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
ENDANGERED GORILLA BORN AT TWYCROSS ZOO

A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .

AVATAR-STYLE WISTERIAS WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING TREE-UMPHANT

A TEN-THOUSAND square foot wide Avatar-style grove is such a beauty it will leave you feeling VINE .

ADORABLE HARVEST MOUSE CLIMBS DANDELION

Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .

WALLABY FEEDS PIGEON

THIS caring wallaby shares her lunch with a hungry pigeon .

THIRSTY SQUIRREL TAKES A BREAK

DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .

LIFE-LIKE PENCIL DRAWINGS

AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .

STUNNING INTERSTELLAR PATTERNS

IN a galaxy far, far away, this collection of stunning interstellar formations will leave you STARSTRUCK .

OTTER FAMILY FIGHT

Splashing around in the water, a mother otter and her son are tangled in a family feud .

CAVE ROOM HOTEL

THIS unique holiday accommodation allows you to enjoy a full Flintstones experience .

INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF INDIANS

An Italian photographer travelled to northern India where he visited poverty stricken suburbs and captured ordinary people in a series of intimate and expressive portraits .

BRITISH KINGFISHER SPLASH

BRITISH kingfishers love to cool off by creating a splash .

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 .