A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The magnificent mammals swim up to several boats full of tourists and get so close that the passengers can stroke the mother and baby whale. The special moment was photographed by lawyer Andrea Izzotti, 47, of Genovia, Italy. Andrea says: “The mother was milking her calf in shallow waters, but they are very curious animals and they came up to our boats to see the humans.
These are the men with one of the most unpleasant jobs in the world .
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
MASKED intruders look sinister but really they are a gang of urban exploring pranksters .
SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
SHOVELLING food into his mouth, this hungry gorilla enjoys a peaceful moment at dinner time .
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
A BAMBI was dramatically caught in mid-air by a greedy Nile crocodile in a once-in-a-million flying pincer move .
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .
PUSHING the diver out of his way, this little sea turtle shows he’s not in the mood for photographs .
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .