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.
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .
THIS is the EXPLOSIVE moment when a 50 metre high pylon came crashing down to earth in a rural field .
GIANT garden sculptures don't beat about the bush .
Going for long rides through vast fields together, this twosome share an unbreakable bond .
CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .
HUNDREDS of hot air balloons decorate the sky above Turkey as the rising sun illuminates the spectacular scenery below .
IN THE not so MISTY MOUNTAINS of Wiltshire, there lies an abandoned hobbit house .
This frozen lighthouse in Michigan could easily be mistaken for a still from the snow swept disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow .
WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .