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.
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
WE’RE all familiar with the heart-wrenching pictures of dogs abandoned in animal shelters, but one photographer has found an innovative way of showcasing the pooch’s personality .
The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .
A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .
THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .
This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
Suspended FIFTY metres in the air, this is the last place that you would expect to find a fine dining experience .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
SITTING on a burning sofa unable to move, one man turns his terrifying dreams into reality .
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .