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..
HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .
With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .
A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .
A pair of BEAUTIFUL rescue sea turtles spot their catch in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef .
A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .
TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .
A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
FINALLY catching a meal, a pair of great white egrets fight over their dinner .
Pic By Graham Gibson/ HotSpot Media - SHARK HYPNOTIST BALANCES SHARK IN PALM OF HIS HAND- In Pic - Diver Tom and Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas- A SHARK hypnotist balances these predators in the palm of his hand by sending them to sleep with a gentle nose rub .
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .
An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .