TAXIDERMY ART BOOK

A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book. Other spookily compelling taxidermy images show a bird's funeral complete with casket, a kitten's wedding and a well-dressed stuffed monkey riding a goat. The stuffed curios were all created by Victorian Englishman Walter Potter, who originally displayed his strange taxidermy creatures to the awe-struck paying public from The White Lion Pub which doubled as his museum in Bramber, Sussex. Brought up in Bramber from 1835 and dying in 1918, Potter's museum continued to entertain until 1970, when it passed to the Jamaica Inn of Brighton. In 2003 the surviving collection was auctioned for half-a-million pounds to various buyers from across the world.

Other great stories
ADORABLE OWLS CUDDLE UP FOR THE CAMERA

HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .

STRIPED MARLIN SPEARS ITS CATCH

A striped marlin means business as it spots lunch and spears a small fish .

SLEEPY GROUNDHOG

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 .

MOODY SEA TURTLE

PUSHING the diver out of his way, this little sea turtle shows he’s not in the mood for photographs .

NEW FLEECE OF LIFE FOR WHEEL CHAIR SHEEP

A disabled sheep is enjoying a new fleece of life after receiving a specially-designed wheelchair .

POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO

POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO - Thousands of worshippers gather to celebrate the Papal visit on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro ,Brazil .

CHEEKY MONKEY KEEPS UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST NEWS

A small Indian monkey is seemingly gob-smacked after reading the latest stock market news .

HOP ON! FASHIONABLE FROG TRIES A SNAIL HAT ON FOR SIZE

FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .

EXERCISING OTTERS

A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .

INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF HINDU HOLY MEN

COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .

PRAYING MANTIS MAKES AN UNLIKELY FRIEND

A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .

KALEIDOSCOPIC CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES

THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .