Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror. She had every reason to be proud. In the space of a year, she had lost an incredible 17 stone. Her weight dropped from 37st 1lbs to 19st 7lbs, and she slipped into a dress before gazing at her newly svelte figure. With her smokey eye makeup and black skater dress, she could have been glamming up for a night on the tiles with her girlfriends. Instead, it was Halloween, 2013, and Ava was hiding a huge secret. Born a boy named William, it was the first time she had ever dressed as a girl – and everything fell into place.
WITH a paw in the air and his tongue hanging from his mouth, it is clear to see that this little groundhog is struggling to wake up and leave behind the comfort of his burrow .
Splashing around in the water, a mother otter and her son are tangled in a family feud .
A HEIGHT-addicted airline pilot has taken pictures of the Dubai from 1,300-feet .
PUSHING the diver out of his way, this little sea turtle shows he’s not in the mood for photographs .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
STRIKING photos capture nature at its most raw and powerful during Earth’s most electrifying event .
A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .
Ever wished you could live in a house just like Barbie's? Canadian sculptor Heather Benning has created the life-size dollhouse of her dreams out a derelict building .
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .
BURSTING colours of reds, pinks and purples give the illusion of a collection of stunning flowers .
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .