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.
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
A baby sperm whale assumed the role of a friendly giant when faced with two awestruck divers .
A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .
A diver attempts to control rising numbers of lionfish by feeding the venomous species to Caribbean reef sharks .
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .
WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .
OFFERING a glimpse into the past, a mash-up of old and new photographs show how the world’s biggest cities have changed .