BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM

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.

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SUNBATHING MEERKAT MAKES THE MOST OF UK SUN

LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .

SQUIRRELS SQUABBLE OVER LUNCH

SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .

FUNKY BUMP

HOTSPOT MEDIA - FUNKY BUMP: FROM MIRROR bellies to rainbow bumps these pregnancy casts of stone and bronze could be the funkiest way to preserve your bump for posterity .

MAGNIFICENT SNOWY OWL

An elegant snowy owl spreads her wings and glides effortlessly above the snow covered field .

STREET FIGHTER CRAZE SPREADS TO LONDON

THE CRAZE for mimicking the video game Streetfighter has spread to the streets of London .

RED SMOKE AT NIGHT, VOLCANO SPOTTERS DELIGHT

With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .

ABANDONED TEXTILE MILL

HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .

ANGRY GIRAFFE DESTROYS BIKE

AN ANGRY giraffe gave a bush-riding cyclist a scare when he stomped his £2K bike into the dirt .

WOOLWICH MURDER OF BRITISH SOLDIER

Soldiers standing guard outside the Woolwich barracks in London - Two terror suspects are under armed guard in separate hospitals in London after a serving soldier was hacked to death in the street .

ABANDONED TAVERN AND FARM SHOP

STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .

POOCHES POSE IN THEIR ELABORATE HEADSCARF COLLECTION

WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .

HITCHHIKING BIRDS

LINED up one by one on a deer’s back, these little birds give their wings a break as they catch a ride across London .