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.
DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .
FROM COLOURFUL autumn leaves to living trees at first glance you might miss these people blended with nature .
Lying angelically with a range of expressions etched on their tiny faces, little bundles of joy are innocently captured in their first few days in these adorable photographs .
With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .
AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .
The claws come out at meal time as a group of white tailed eagles brawl over road-kill .
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .
A mischievous fox cub demonstrates his playful side by biting his sibling’s tail .
