FROM ICE bubbles to boiling lava, these photographs highlight the stunning shapes and patterns found in nature. The series of extraordinary images were taken by German software engineer Thorsten Scheuermann after he decided to examine his surroundings. A trip to the city of Kalapana in Hawaii, home to the Kilauea Volcano, provided Thorsten with the setting for his lava picture, while a visit to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon offered him the opportunity to photograph ice bubbles up-close. The 37-year-old, now of Washington, USA, said: 'These are sights that can gain greater significance and have their beauty exposed when excluding everything else around them.'
A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
DIVING boffins fired harpoons into 30-foot-long whale sharks in a bid to put the sea-beasts on Google Maps .
A diver attempts to control rising numbers of lionfish by feeding the venomous species to Caribbean reef sharks .
MEET the little lion of suburbia with a mane that makes him look like a mini-king of the jungle .
WIDE EYED with a huge smile across her face, this little elephant is a picture of happiness .
An Indonesian farmer is dragged through muddy water as he clings to the tails of two charging cows .
These beautiful photographs show how these playful pods of dolphins make their own fun by gliding, flipping and spinning through the air whilst enjoying the sun on their backs .
WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .
FLYING through the air, these delighted pooches pull their best poses mid-flight .
DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .
A BAMBI was dramatically caught in mid-air by a greedy Nile crocodile in a once-in-a-million flying pincer move .