PERCHED on a branch, this Little Owl plays third wheel to two love birds. Clearly not bothered by their uncomfortable onlooker, the owls pucker up and put on a very public display of affection. This trio of Little Owls were photographed by Uzbek photographer Ilia Shalamaev, 36, after he spotted the scene on a trip to the town of Kiryat Gat, Israel. “Here you can see a family of owls playing and having fun on a branch, not far from their nesting place,” says Ilia, now of Beit Hashmonay, Israel.
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare .
PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .
A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .
With one hand rested on his belly and the other propping his head up, this lazy lizard takes an afternoon break .
A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
A diver attempts to control rising numbers of lionfish by feeding the venomous species to Caribbean reef sharks .
