PLAYFUL MANATEE

A manatee makes the most of his underwater guests by rolling onto his back for a belly rub. The manatee appears apprehensive at first, but he soon cosies up to the divers. The photographs were taken by marine biologist Andrew Pearson in Crystal River, Florida at the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge. The 32 year old photographer, of Southampton, says: ‘We spent several days snorkelling with wild manatees.

Other great stories
BATTY ABOUT BATMAN - MAN SPENDS £65K ON COLLECTION

Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .

PORTRAITS IN PAKISTAN

A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .

PELT-MOBILE SPOTTED

A TAXIDERMY truck spotted in America’s Deep South could be the most gruesome wagon on the road .

STRANDED POLAR BEAR

Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .

BABY WHALE AND MOTHER LAP UP TOURIST ATTENTION

A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .

JOLY THE WOLLY FALLS FOR PARKING PRANK

PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .

McDIVING

HOTSPOT MEDIA - McDIVING CRAZE GOES VIRAL - DRUNK students have brought the term 'extra-value meal' to a new level in a bizarre internet craze sweeping across McDonalds chains - McDiving .

MESMERIZING STAR TRAILS

MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .

SNOW HITS BIRMINGHAM

More weather chaos is heading our way, with ice and snow already hitting areas across Birmingham .

SPECTACULAR SCENERY AT CHILEAN OBSERVATORIES

An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .

PORCUPINES COME CLOSE TO VICTORY AGAINST PRIDE OF HUNGRY LIONS

Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions .

VETERAN BEATEN IN REMEMBRANCE WEEKEND ATTACK

A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .