Most people have an angel at the top of their Christmas tree, but one bear at Chester Zoo decided he wanted to be the star of the show. Climbing right to the top of the tree, the zoo’s spectacled bear Bernardo can often be seen relaxing with his head in the clouds. Four-year-old Bernardo moved to the zoo after travelling from Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma. Tim Rowlands, the zoo’s curator of mammals said: “An exchange of animals between the USA and Europe doesn’t happen very often at all, which makes Bernardo even more special to us here at the zoo.
LOCATIONS bursting with vibrant greens and chestnut browns, these photographs capture the peaceful English countryside in all its glory .
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
A doting seal smiles at her sweet little pup as she tickles its tummy on the beach .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
A blanket of fog is lit up by the colourful glowing lights of the city below .
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .
An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .
Animal rescue volunteers have told how a cat riddled with cancer was forced to ripped off its own ears after it was abandoned by its owners .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .