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.
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
Animal rescue volunteers have told how a cat riddled with cancer was forced to ripped off its own ears after it was abandoned by its owners .
WIDE EYED with a huge smile across her face, this little elephant is a picture of happiness .
THIS is the incredible moment a pelican throws a fish into the air and SLAM DUNKS it into its enormous throat sack .
Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .
BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .
AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .
If you had to scrape the snow off your car this morning or slip-slide your way into work over icy pavements spare a thought for these little critters .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
A toddler has shrugged off death an incredible 10 times thanks to his parents who revive him with the kiss of life every two weeks .
BREATHING life back into old photographs, these black and white images are transformed by colour .
