An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion. Over the last three years, Peter Franc, 35, of Sydney, Australia and his plush pig pal have visited 30 different countries and a host of breath-taking locations, including Niagara Falls and Mount Everest, with Travel Piggy posing for pictures along the way. The pair are on a mission to find Peter’s former travel buddy, a cuddly toy rabbit, dubbed Travel Bunny, which was stolen from Peter’s car in Italy in 2010. While the reunion is yet to happen, Peter, an interface designer, and his new travelling companion remain undeterred.
CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .
A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
WITHOUT A care in the world, this little snow monkey puts his feet up and settles in for a snooze .
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .
From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
STARING eagerly into the camera, this little toad is full of curiosity .
The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .