Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions. The porcupines, after leaving their spikey mark, hurry away from the pack of big cats. But they are unable to escape when the pride's alpha male lion arrives and devours the retreating spine covered rodents. Amateur photographer and software tester Philip Eglise witness the battle during a trip to the Kalahari Desert, South Africa .
DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .
ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .
A striped marlin means business as it spots lunch and spears a small fish .
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
AN ARRAY of colours, from pinks to blues and oranges, fill the night sky to create an amazing collection of interstellar patterns .
Blonde teen Jess Stubbs has certainly got girl power - as Britain’s youngest TRUCKER .
A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .
With blue waves tumbling over them, these surfers glide underneath a tunnel of water .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .
STARING eagerly into the camera, this little toad is full of curiosity .