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.
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
This starling and prairie dog will not back down an inch as they have a fearsome stand-off over who gets to eat a nut .
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .
PERCHING on the edge of a flower, these loved-up caterpillars can't resist each other as they enjoy a romantic moment together .
A diving guide leaves a shark completely docile and balanced in the palm of his hand .
This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .
Scurrying along the branch of a tree, a little squirrel pushes a pram packed full of Easter treats .
FROM THE world famous Girl with a Pearl Earring painting to a jaguar in the grass, these incredible drawings are created from coloured ballpoint pens .
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .