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.
A host of websites that are almost twenty years old are collecting a cult following thanks to their retro appeal .
A photographer has travelled the length of the UK capturing lighthouses and their picturesque surroundings .
A small Indian monkey is seemingly gob-smacked after reading the latest stock market news .
A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
CLINGING onto nothing but ice, this brave climber reaches heights of 1000 FEET as he scales frozen solid waterfalls .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .
SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .
This longhorn beetle demon-strates a dark side as it looks just like the devil .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .