BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM

A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post. These adorable photographs of two playful bear cubs and their watchful mum were captured by American nature photographer D. Robert Franz, 56, on a visit to Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. 'What we see in these photographs is the interaction between the mother brown bear and her two cubs,' says D. Robert, of Cody, Wyoming.

Other great stories
PURR-FECT TIGER CUBS GET THEIR HEALTH CHECKS

TRYING their best to wriggle away, three adorable tiger cubs receive their health checks at Chester Zoo .

FROZEN WATERFALLS

COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .

ON A WINGSUIT AND A PRAYER - FASTEST FLYING WOMAN IN THE WORLD

SOARING at 112 miles per hour through the air, this petite blonde certainly lives up to her title as the fastest flying woman in the world .

NOT FIT FOR DOGS - RSPCA RESCUERS FIND ANIMALS IN SHOCKING FILTH

It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .

GREAT-GRANDMA SPLASHES £48K ON FAKE BABY COLLECTION

A retired foster carer has spent a whopping £48k on her brood of lifelike dolls .

SCUBA-DUPER DIVER BREAKS RECORD FOR 50 HOURS UNDERWATER

A British diver has set a new world record for the longest warm water scuba dive by spending a mammoth 49 hours and 56 minutes under water .

COUPLE RECREATE ICONIC SCENES FROM THE NOTEBOOK

A Canadian couple celebrated their engagement by recreating iconic moments from the film The Notebook .

PRAYING MANTIS MAKES AN UNLIKELY FRIEND

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

CLIMBERS TACKLE 200FT TOTEM POLE

TOWERING 65 metres into the sky, this terrifying accent is a dream for climbers .

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 .

CARE HOME STAFF ALLOWED BOY TO DIE BECAUSE OF HEALTH AND SAFETY FEARS

The family of a disabled boy who died in a tragic accident at a care home have received a four figure payout after an inquest heard carers allowed him to fall rather than restrain him because of "health and safety" fears .

A GRIZZLY GANG

PAWS for thought as you feast your eyes on this rare bear bathing session .