SUNBATHING OTTER

A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch. Stretching out on the dock, he laps up the warm weather and works on his tan. These cute shots were captured by Canadian triathlon coach Mark Bates, 46, when he spotted the little river otter relaxing on the marina docks in Pender Island, Canada. ‘This calm otter was sunbathing and napping on the dock of a marina,’ says Mark, of North Vancouver.

Other great stories
PET DOG WITH CANCER LEFT TO DIE

CCTV shows a dark figure dumping the dog- A pet dog suffering with cancer has been put down after being dumped at an animal rescue in what officials said is the worst abandonment of any animal they have witnessed .

GLACIER ICE CLIMBING

COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .

OTTER FAMILY FIGHT

Splashing around in the water, a mother otter and her son are tangled in a family feud .

CHIPMUNK YOGA

ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .

ABANDONED CARE HOME LIES FORGOTTEN

BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .

ASTOUNDING ASTRONOMICAL IMAGES TAKEN IN GARDEN

AN ARRAY of colours, from pinks to blues and oranges, fill the night sky to create an amazing collection of interstellar patterns .

PHOTOGRAPHER BLENDS NIGHT AND DAY IN CITYSCAPES

ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .

TEEN GIRL TRUCKER YOUNGEST IN UK

Blonde teen Jess Stubbs has certainly got girl power - as Britain’s youngest TRUCKER .

WELSH HOTEL ONCE HOME TO WWI SOLDIERS NOW LIES ABANDONED

A grand 56-bedroom hotel, once heaving with injured soldiers during the First World War, now lies completely abandoned .

BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM

A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .

SWIMMING WITH WHALE SHARKS

A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .

ENGLISH SEASIDE SPLIT SHOTS

From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .