FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm. The gentle giants have travelled 300 miles from the cold winter waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the springs of Crystal River, Florida. For manatees, it is vital they retain as much body heat as possible, otherwise their digestive systems can shut down. Belgian photographer Ellen Cuylaerts visited the lumbering 1,200lb creatures in the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, where sick manatees are rescued and given care and surgery to get them back in the wild.

Other great stories
THE SECRET LIFE OF SQUIRRELS

PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .

McDIVING

HOTSPOT MEDIA - McDIVING CRAZE GOES VIRAL - DRUNK students have brought the term 'extra-value meal' to a new level in a bizarre internet craze sweeping across McDonalds chains - McDiving .

MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .

NOSEY POLAR BEAR INSPECTS TOURIST'S TRUCK

STANDING on its hind legs, a nosey polar bear presses its paws against the window of a truck and takes a peek at the tourist inside .

AERIAL PICTURES OF FURTHER FLOODING AS HEAVY RAIN CONTINUES

An aerial view of flooding in Gloucestershire .

LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL

HOTSPOT MEDIA - LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL: Zoe Mitchell when she was two-weeks-old .

MY EVIL STEP-DAUGHTER TROLLED HERSELF TO DESTROY ME…AND MY MARRIAGE!

When Louise Steen walked down the aisle, she imagined a perfect future with her older hubby – but her life would soon become a living hell .

HEAVY RAIN AND WILD WEATHER FOR SOUTHERN ENGLAND AND WALES

Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend .

THE UNEXPECTED FRIENDLY GIANT

A baby sperm whale assumed the role of a friendly giant when faced with two awestruck divers .

BEATEN TO A PULP FOR MY TRANS-FORMATION, BUT I WON’T LET THE BULLIES GET ME DOWN

Ashlee, 20, has always known that she was supposed to be a girl .

ADORABLE ORANGUTAN TURNS ONE

An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .

SHARK SELFIES

NOT YOUR everyday selfie, this plucky diver poses with some of the scariest predators in the ocean .