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.
MASKED intruders look sinister but really they are a gang of urban exploring pranksters .
An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .
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AN ANGRY giraffe gave a bush-riding cyclist a scare when he stomped his £2K bike into the dirt .
WELCOME to the pretty 122-inch-tall red dwelling that lays claim to the title of the UK's smallest house .
THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .
A TAXIDERMY truck spotted in America’s Deep South could be the most gruesome wagon on the road .
With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .
LEAPING through the air this determined little mouse is on a mission for food .
NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .