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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ADORABLE PENGUINS HATCH AT UK ZOO

HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .

ADORABLE SHELTER DOGS STRIKE A ‘PAWS’ TO FIND FOREVER HOMES

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RELAXING SNOW MONKEY

WITHOUT A care in the world, this little snow monkey puts his feet up and settles in for a snooze .

MYSTERY OF THE CROOKED COTTAGE

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KITTEN IN WHEEL

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I LIKE MY SALMON ROAR!

A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .

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 .

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 .

BIRD FISHING

DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .

SWIMMING WITH WHALE SHARKS

A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .

HIDDEN HIMALAYAN FESTIVAL

A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .

SLEEPY GROUNDHOG

WITH a paw in the air and his tongue hanging from his mouth, it is clear to see that this little groundhog is struggling to wake up and leave behind the comfort of his burrow .