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.
BURSTING colours of reds, pinks and purples give the illusion of a collection of stunning flowers .
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .
LIKE A living balloon this baitball of sardines is ready to burst when threatened by a pointy nosed sailfish .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
A BLIND man was battered with a brick in a sickening attack by two thugs .
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - FUNKY BUMP: FROM MIRROR bellies to rainbow bumps these pregnancy casts of stone and bronze could be the funkiest way to preserve your bump for posterity .
SITTING in the middle of a vast desert, an abandoned cinema is still waiting for its first movie to be screened .
A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .
FLYING through the air, these delighted pooches pull their best poses mid-flight .