WITH a paw in the air and his tongue hanging from his mouth, it is clear to see that this little groundhog is struggling to wake up and leave behind the comfort of his burrow. The groundhog takes a moment to stretch before quickly becoming aware that he's not alone. The adorable scene was captured in the Tonale Pass, a high mountain pass in Trentino Alto Adige, Italy, by freelance photographer Maurizio Lancini. The 39-year-old, of Rodengo Saiano, Brescia, Italy, says:"I spotted the entrance to the burrow so decided to hide nearby and wait for the groundhog to appear.
WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .
From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .
SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .
These uninvited guests ELEPHANTLY make their annual trip through the reception of this welcoming lodge .
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .
STARING open-mouthed into the camera, this shocked fish looks out of place in the middle of its angry friends .
FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .
THIS is the incredible moment a pelican throws a fish into the air and SLAM DUNKS it into its enormous throat sack .
TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book .
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
A BLIND man was battered with a brick in a sickening attack by two thugs .
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .