She is about to start driving and soon will be able to legally buy alcohol and get married, but Poppy Webb-Jones still looks and thinks like a ten-year-old girl. Unlike other 17-year-olds, Poppy is more interested in Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber than wearing make-up, experimenting with boys or staying out late. This is due to a rare condition which means she was born without any hormones, meaning she has never gone through puberty, never had a growth spurt and never thrown a teenage tantrum. To many parents of teenagers, Poppy must sound like the perfect child, but unbeknown to her or her mother Karen Webb-Meek, her condition posed a deadly risk to her health throughout her whole childhood. Poppy was born with a condition called panhypopituitarism meaning she lacks most of the hormones essential for life. Hypopituitarism is the decreased secretion of one or more of the eight hormones normally produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. If there is decreased secretion of most pituitary hormones, the term panhypopituitarism (pan meaning "all") is used. Poppy has no growth hormone, meaning her bones stopped growing around the age of 11, and she has no thyroxine, which regulates the metabolism and energy levels. In addition she has no oestrogen, which controls the onset of puberty and the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
FINALLY catching a meal, a pair of great white egrets fight over their dinner .
LEAPING through the air this determined little mouse is on a mission for food .
WIDE EYED with a huge smile across her face, this little elephant is a picture of happiness .
SLEEPING within touching distance of wild African animals might not be everyone's idea of a relaxing break .
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
A makeup artist from the West Midlands magically transforms herself into famous cartoon characters using body paint .
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
A toddler has shrugged off death an incredible 10 times thanks to his parents who revive him with the kiss of life every two weeks .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .
MEET the little lion of suburbia with a mane that makes him look like a mini-king of the jungle .
