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.
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .
USUALLY full to bursting, these London Underground stations stand silent and completely commuter free .
From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .
BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .
Going for long rides through vast fields together, this twosome share an unbreakable bond .
An aerial view of flooding in Gloucestershire .
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .
An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .
A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .