Animal rescue volunteers have told how a cat riddled with cancer was forced to ripped off its own ears after it was abandoned by its owners. Poor Victoria was so ravaged by cancer that she had torn off her own ears by the time she was discovered wandering the streets by a passer-by distraught at her obvious plight. At first it was thought she had been mauled by a dog but on closer inspection by a vet it became clear the pain of the tumours had been so severe the little black and white cat had made a desperate bid to escape the agony. Victoria was found walking the streets of Newent, Gloucs., and handed over to charity workers at the New Start Cat Rescue Centre who took her in and paid for an operation on her ears. It is costing them thousands of pounds to rehabilitate her but volunteers there say the affectionate feline deserves a new chance at life..
POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO - Thousands of worshippers gather to celebrate the Papal visit on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro ,Brazil .
A NINJA red squirrel cuts a dashing figure as the little fella jumps up to ten-feet between treetops in the Yorkshire Dales .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .
With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .
A BEAUTIFUL sight for the eyes and the imagination, these liquid sculptures take shape in many different colours and formations .
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .
A frilled lizard appears to be belting out a tune as it sits in a tree with its mouth open wide .
Sam Notaro built his own flood defences to protect his four-bedroom home in Moorland, Somerset Flooding is likely to get worse around Somerset as groundwater levels continue to rise .