FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm. The gentle giants have travelled 300 miles from the cold winter waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the springs of Crystal River, Florida. For manatees, it is vital they retain as much body heat as possible, otherwise their digestive systems can shut down. Belgian photographer Ellen Cuylaerts visited the lumbering 1,200lb creatures in the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, where sick manatees are rescued and given care and surgery to get them back in the wild.

Other great stories
MAN AND NATURE

LEAF-ing much to the imagination, this camera trickery is blooming marvellous .

AMAZING AURORA BOREALIS

A GLOWING range of greens and blues sweep across the sky in a spectacular display of light .

'GRENADE' DIET PILLS PUT AIRPORTS ON ALERT

AIRPORT staff have been put on alert after diet pills that come in grenade shaped containers sparked security alerts .

NAKED SLACKLINERS TACKLE NEW CHALLENGES

BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .

BURSTING FIREWORKS

BURSTING colours of reds, pinks and purples give the illusion of a collection of stunning flowers .

CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT

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

PAWS FOR THOUGHT: POLAR BEAR RELAXES IN SNOW

STARING intently into the camera, a polar bear appears to be lost in thought while relaxing in the snow .

INCREDIBLE PHOTOREALISTIC DRAWINGS CREATED WITH A BALLPOINT PEN

FROM a HOLLYWOOD actress to the face of an innocent child, these are incredible drawings with an unlikely twist .

DADDY DAY CARE: CARDINALFISH FATHER CARRIES EGGS IN MOUTH

It’s a role reversal in the Visayan Sea as HUNDREDS of tiny, glistening eggs are carried around inside the mouth of their cardinalfish father .

KINGFISHERS DIVE FOR THEIR DINNER

THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .

FUNERAL COMPANY MAKE DIAMONDS FROM CREMATED REMAINS

SPARKLING bright inside their box, it’s hard to believe these diamonds are made from the cremated remains of the deceased .

BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM

A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .