CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia. Away from modern civilization, children living in the Simien Mountains spend their gruelling days herding, or carrying, animals and walking miles through the rocky terrain. From the age of five these children are responsible for goats and sheep in the highlands and when they do rest, the boys and girls are schooled in classrooms made from mud, rocks and wood. German photographer Mario Gerth trekked 3,000 metres up the Ethiopian mountain range to visit this group of Tigray people and their hardy children and witness their unorthodox lifestyle.
FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .
Dogs catch waves at the Coronado Bay dog surf championships Saturday 22nd June 2013- DOG SURFING mutts have never looked so gnarly .
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
WIDE EYED with a huge smile across her face, this little elephant is a picture of happiness .
FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .
THIS is the EXPLOSIVE moment when a 50 metre high pylon came crashing down to earth in a rural field .
Going for long rides through vast fields together, this twosome share an unbreakable bond .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .