MESMERISING FUNGI

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..

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POLAR BEAR PLAY

WITH SNOW COVERING the ground around them, these two polar bears play fight .

KRYPONITE BEACH

LUMINOUS green rocks could easily be a beach from Superman's homeland of Krypton .

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .

SQUIRRELS SQUABBLE OVER LUNCH

SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .

STUNNING SUMATRAN TIGER CAUSES A SPLASH

BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .

ABANDONED TEXTILE MILL

HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .

PRAIRIE DOG AND STARLING STAND-OFF

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 .

BASHFUL ORANGUTAN

A young orangutan comes over all shy as she hides her face behind a broken bucket .

NERVOUS SQUIRREL

EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .

TAXIDERMY ART BOOK

A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .

GIRAFFES DUCK FOR COVER

DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .

SLOTH SANCTUARY

SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .