CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia. Away from modern civilization, children living in the Simien Mountains spend their gruelling days herding, or carrying, animals and walking miles through the rocky terrain. From the age of five these children are responsible for goats and sheep in the highlands and when they do rest, the boys and girls are schooled in classrooms made from mud, rocks and wood. German photographer Mario Gerth trekked 3,000 metres up the Ethiopian mountain range to visit this group of Tigray people and their hardy children and witness their unorthodox lifestyle.
SWIMMING in unison, millions of silverside fish dwarf the divers .
Grandmother Janet Kirby was told she couldn't board her plane home after being accused of assault .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
SPLASHING in the water and fighting in-between rocks, these energetic tigers enjoy their fun-filled morning .
TRYING their best to wriggle away, three adorable tiger cubs receive their health checks at Chester Zoo .
This frozen lighthouse in Michigan could easily be mistaken for a still from the snow swept disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow .
Splashing around in the water, a mother otter and her son are tangled in a family feud .
FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .
STRIKING photos capture nature at its most raw and powerful during Earth’s most electrifying event .
Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .