CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

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.

Other great stories
LIFE ON THE LINE: SLUM LIES NEXT TO ACTIVE RAILWAY

Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .

SNOWCAP SQUIRREL

WITH A LITTLE cap of fresh snow resting on his head, this squirrel tries his best to pull off his new look .

CHEEKY GORILLA

A cheeky gorilla sticks her tongue out and plays up for the camera at Bronx Zoo .

MONKEY BUSINESS

GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .

CHUCKLING SEAL

CHUCKLING away, this little seal appears to find something hilarious .

AMAZING PEN ART

FROM THE world famous Girl with a Pearl Earring painting to a jaguar in the grass, these incredible drawings are created from coloured ballpoint pens .

BRITISH KINGFISHER SPLASH

BRITISH kingfishers love to cool off by creating a splash .

FRIENDLY TOAD READY FOR HIS CLOSE UP

STARING eagerly into the camera, this little toad is full of curiosity .

CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT

A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .

ADORABLE SQUIRREL GETS READY FOR A SNOWBALL FIGHT

ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .

WALLABY FEEDS PIGEON

THIS caring wallaby shares her lunch with a hungry pigeon .

£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED

A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .