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.
A BEAUTIFUL sight for the eyes and the imagination, these liquid sculptures take shape in many different colours and formations .
A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
BRAIDED, sculpted and beaded, these are the eye-catching hairstyles worn by the tribal women of Angola .
IN a galaxy far, far away, this collection of stunning interstellar formations will leave you STARSTRUCK .
This starling and prairie dog will not back down an inch as they have a fearsome stand-off over who gets to eat a nut .
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .
A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .
LINED up one by one on a deer’s back, these little birds give their wings a break as they catch a ride across London .
A mischievous fox cub demonstrates his playful side by biting his sibling’s tail .