RELAXING SNOW MONKEY

WITHOUT A care in the world, this little snow monkey puts his feet up and settles in for a snooze. Bathing in the hot springs, he looks right at home as he indulges in a bit of me time. This calm monkey was captured by Edinburgh photographer Chris Rush, 26, while visiting the Jigokudani Monkey Park in Japan. “These photographs capture one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever encountered,” says Chris, originally of Newcastle.

Other great stories
OH DEER: MOMENT DEER CRASHES THROUGH WINDSCREEN OF BUS

With no luck at the front of the bus, the deer runs around the center seats trying to escape through the window – THIS is the astonishing moment a DEER crashed through the front windshield of a bus before it went hysterically running around the vehicle .

FIGHTING BLACKBACK GORILLAS

FISTS fly as two gorillas take each other on in a dramatic battle .

LAZY FROG

KICKING back and relaxing with his arms outstretched, this chilled-out frog appears to be loving life as he takes some time out on a water lily leaf .

MONSTROUS WAVES DWARF DARE-DEVIL SURFERS

Gigantic 100ft waves create the perfect playground for dare-devil surfers from across the world .

VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG

A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .

PHOTOGRAPHER BLENDS NIGHT AND DAY IN CITYSCAPES

ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .

PEEK-A-BOO FISH: BRIT SNAPPER MAKES RARE FIND

A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .

STUNNING AURORA BOREALIS REFLECTED IN ICELAND

CONTRACT CANCELLED, DO NOT SYNDICATE .

CHEEKY CHIPMUNK WITHDRAWS HIS GENEROUS OFFER

A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .

BACKFLIPPING SHARK SOARS DURING SEAL HUNT

Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .

PRISON HOTEL

FOR most people, spending a night locked up in a cell would be undesirable .

HOUNDTON TABBY

FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .