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
ABANDONED PLAZA HOTEL

The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .

RARE BRONTE POEM FETCHES £92K AT AUCTION

A rare manuscript of one of Charlotte Bronte’s earliest poems went under the hammer today and fetched nearly £100,000 – double what it was expected to get .

ADORABLE DOLPHINS VISIT AUSTRALIAN BEACH FOR BREAKFAST

SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .

ADORABLE STOAT HUNTS IN THE SNOW

DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .

HYENA HAS THE LAST LAUGH

This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .

BAITBALL READY TO POP

LIKE A living balloon this baitball of sardines is ready to burst when threatened by a pointy nosed sailfish .

ABANDONED OLD CROW COTTAGE

AN OLD ENGLISH cottage packed full of history and valuables has been left to rot .

INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF HINDU HOLY MEN

COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .

EASTER ISLAND REPLICA STATUES DESTROYED IN SEA FALL

A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .

PURR-FECT TIGER CUBS GET THEIR HEALTH CHECKS

TRYING their best to wriggle away, three adorable tiger cubs receive their health checks at Chester Zoo .

DAZZLING BEAUTY OF THE MILKY WAY ABOVE UK AND ITALY

A photographer has captured stunning photographs of the Milky Way above picturesque landscapes in the UK and Italy .

SCULPTURES THAT WILL LEAF YOU SPEECHLESS

GIANT garden sculptures don't beat about the bush .