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.
AN ANGRY giraffe gave a bush-riding cyclist a scare when he stomped his £2K bike into the dirt .
15-foot-long great white sharks on the hunt, in False Bay, South Africa - SHOCK and awe pictures of 15-foot-long great whites on the hunt will leave you stunned .
BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .
Meet the human CCTV: a PCSO with a memory for faces so sharp he has apprehended more than 130 suspects in the last year alone with his eagle eyed talents .
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
BLOWING bubbles underwater, this adorable polar bear slides into his tank for a playful dip .
A SERENE turquoise glow glimmers from underneath these powerful icebergs .
POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .
THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .
Swirling water and sand create amazing aerial images of river deltas across Iceland .