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.
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .
NEVER mind being careful not to choke on your food, this mother bird has a bigger challenge on her hands, as her ravenous offspring impatiently launches its head down into her stomach .
DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .
SOME OF the sea’s most terrifying creatures show their softer side as they join a group of diners for lunch .
IN a galaxy far, far away, this collection of stunning interstellar formations will leave you STARSTRUCK .
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .
COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .
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 .
