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.
BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
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 .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .
A lively lemon shark grins into the camera and showcases his impressive teeth .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
Gigantic 100ft waves create the perfect playground for dare-devil surfers from across the world .
WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .