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.
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
RAISING his flipper, this two day old seal pup gives a wave to the camera .
COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .
SNOWBOARDING in your £2,000 wedding dress sounds like a nightmare for most brides .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .
THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .
A little clownfish opens its mouth to reveal a blood sucking intruder living on its tongue .