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.'
Splashing around in the water, a mother otter and her son are tangled in a family feud .
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .
SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .
PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .
A little clownfish opens its mouth to reveal a blood sucking intruder living on its tongue .
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 .
NOT YOUR everyday selfie, this plucky diver poses with some of the scariest predators in the ocean .
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
A US firefighter has battled osteoarthritis and four hip replacements to break the world paddleboarding record .
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .