A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post. These adorable photographs of two playful bear cubs and their watchful mum were captured by American nature photographer D. Robert Franz, 56, on a visit to Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. 'What we see in these photographs is the interaction between the mother brown bear and her two cubs,' says D. Robert, of Cody, Wyoming.
A frilled lizard appears to be belting out a tune as it sits in a tree with its mouth open wide .
SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .
BURSTING colours of reds, pinks and purples give the illusion of a collection of stunning flowers .
DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .
THIS is the shocking moment a clumsy radio newsreader plunged into a freezing canal while texting her boyfriend instead of looking where she was going .
STARING eagerly into the camera, this little toad is full of curiosity .
A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .
Ever wished you could live in a house just like Barbie's? Canadian sculptor Heather Benning has created the life-size dollhouse of her dreams out a derelict building .
A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .
A fox takes a tumble and lands on his head when he tries to fend off a pair of eagles in Japan .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .