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
HUNGRY HERON STRUGGLES TO HOLD ONTO ITS CATCH

A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .

FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .

ROAD KILL ON THE MENU

A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .

THE BEAUTIFUL MOSQUE OF COLOURS

As sunlight cascades through its vibrant stained glass windows, every inch of the Nasir-ol-Mulk Mosque bursts with colour .

DARK DISNEY

THESE are the Disney Princesses you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley .

SQUIRRELS SQUABBLE OVER LUNCH

SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .

HOUNDTON TABBY

FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .

TOY CAR ADVENTURES

These images of vintage cars, bikes and vans, pictured all over the world, could easily have come from a globetrotting petrol-head’s photo album .

SPRITE LIGHTNING CAPTURED IN AURORA LIGHTS

The aurora lights captured in Blair Nebraska, America - WITH electrifying purple and illuminous green brightening up the night sky, this is the rare moment a flash of 'sprite' lightening was captured on camera .

SLACKLINING USA

Popping impressive moves despite high-wiring at three THOUSAND feet .

WHITE TAILED EAGLES FIGHT FOR FOOD

The claws come out at meal time as a group of white tailed eagles brawl over road-kill .

ADORABLE NEWBORN SEALS PLAY IN SNOW

WITH THEIR adorable big round eyes and fluffy white fur, these baby seals are cute enough to melt any heart .