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.

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BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .

PEEKABOO SQUIRRELS EMERGE FROM THEIR NEST

SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .

ENTER THE LOST WORLD

Some will get up close and personal with Mother Nature’s deadliest animals to get the perfect shot, posing the question, what lengths will a photographer go to for that all important picture? But in this case, the question should be what depths .

SUNBATHING OTTER

A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .

THIRSTY SQUIRREL TAKES A BREAK

DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .

UNUSUAL ANIMAL FRIENDSHIP

SAT ON top of a Brazilian turtle’s head, this little ladybird looks content as he studies his environment from a new height .

AUSTRALIAN TOWN LOCATED UNDERGROUND

A mining town in Australia’s outback appears to be completely deserted, but its residents have escaped the scorching heat by living in underground caves .

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 .

ABANDONED FARM HOUSE LEFT TO ROT

With a dust covered coat hung from a wardrobe door and a pair of glasses left on a shelf, a remote farmhouse lies abandoned in the Welsh countryside .

SMILING SHARKS

A lively lemon shark grins into the camera and showcases his impressive teeth .

SECRET POOL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT

HIDDEN in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a secret oasis awaits intrepid travellers .

BOSTON BOMBING AFTERMATH - 17TH APRIL

At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .