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.
If you had to scrape the snow off your car this morning or slip-slide your way into work over icy pavements spare a thought for these little critters .
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
A BAMBI was dramatically caught in mid-air by a greedy Nile crocodile in a once-in-a-million flying pincer move .
The lighthouses of Brittany, from Brest to Le Conquet, stand tall on France’s north-western coast against stunning scenery .
THESE LOVE BIRDS can’t keep their beaks off each other as they share a very public display of affection .
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
FLYING through the air, these delighted pooches pull their best poses mid-flight .
FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
FINALLY catching a meal, a pair of great white egrets fight over their dinner .