LIKE A living balloon this baitball of sardines is ready to burst when threatened by a pointy nosed sailfish. The photographs, taken off the coast of Isla Mujeres, near Cancun, Mexico, show how these water creatures work cooperatively to cut off a portion of a school of sardines swimming close to the seafloor, and drive them to the surface. American photographer Doug Perrine, 60, managed to capture the moment the sailfish manage to herd the bait into a tightly packed ball, ready to pick off for dinner one-by-one. ‘The sailfish took-turns swimming through the bait ball slashing with their bills to kill the fish, which are quickly gobbled up,’ Doug said. ‘Sometimes they light up or change to a bright colour pattern.
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 .
THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .
With the full moon looming behind him, this polar bear nestles down for the night .
POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .
CAMPED out in the middle of a forest, these unusual hut hotels take you back to basics .
THIS is the incredible moment a pelican throws a fish into the air and SLAM DUNKS it into its enormous throat sack .
A cheeky owl fancies a game of hide and seek as it peeps out from behind a tree .
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .
MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .
WITH A wide smile plastered across his face, this little gecko is ready for his close up .
