COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society. Known as sadhus, they shun all home comforts for a life spent inside caves, forests and temples and can be found across India and Nepal. German banker and photographer Mario Gerth decided to find and photograph the sadhu people. The 38-year-old of Erfurt, Germany, says: “I have been obsessed with the sadhus for many years and set off in 2013 to look for them.
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .
A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .
THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .
Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions .
Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .
A BAMBI was dramatically caught in mid-air by a greedy Nile crocodile in a once-in-a-million flying pincer move .