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.
These are the men with one of the most unpleasant jobs in the world .
From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .
SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .
A diver attempts to control rising numbers of lionfish by feeding the venomous species to Caribbean reef sharks .
AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .
HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .
SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .
SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .