With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet. These mesmorising pictures, however, capture the beautiful variety of fungi here on Earth. The incredible images were taken by Australian photographer Stephen Axford, 62, after he became familiar with the importance of fungi in everyday life, and decided to document it twelve years ago..
SOARING at 112 miles per hour through the air, this petite blonde certainly lives up to her title as the fastest flying woman in the world .
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .
IN THE not so MISTY MOUNTAINS of Wiltshire, there lies an abandoned hobbit house .
A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .
AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .
PERCHING on the edge of a flower, these loved-up caterpillars can't resist each other as they enjoy a romantic moment together .
THEIR gnarling teeth at the ready, these two baboons fight it out for the last piece of fruit .
A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .
SEA LIFE and greenery in one shot show nature at its very best .
These uninvited guests ELEPHANTLY make their annual trip through the reception of this welcoming lodge .
A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .