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
A SMILEY GECKO SHEDS ITS SKIN AS HEATWAVE HITS BRITAIN
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .
SNEAKY OTTER
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .
DOCTORS THOUGHT MY 30CM OVARIAN CYST WAS A BABY DUE TO GROWING BELLY – BUT CANCER WAS RAVISHING MY ORGANS
A woman was diagnosed with cancer after a cyst left her so bloated medics were convinced she was pregnant .
PRAYING MANTIS MAKES AN UNLIKELY FRIEND
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
GIRAFFES DUCK FOR COVER
DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .
CHIPS IN: MAN MAKES £4K A MONTH SENDING POTATOES IN THE POST
A man has made a SPUD-TACULAR amount of money sending potatoes in the post .
NATURE PAPS
NATURE PAPARAZZIS prove you don't have to be Justin Bieber or Cheryl Cole to attract a pack of photographers .
POLE-DANCING MUM CELEBRATES PREGNANCIES WITH WACKY STUNTS
A mum has celebrated each of her four pregnancies with a host of wacky stunts - including acrobatics, aerial contortion, pole-dancing and risque photo shoots .
FIGHTING BLACKBACK GORILLAS
FISTS fly as two gorillas take each other on in a dramatic battle .
DAREDEVIL DIVERS HAVE A WHALE OF A TIME
SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .
WOMAN REJECTED BY ADOPTION AGENCY DUE TO PREGNANCY PHOBIA
A woman has spoken of her heartbreak after she was rejected by an adoption agency because of her pregnancy phobia .
WOMAN DISCOVERS PREGNANCY…AS HER BABY BEGINS CROWNING
A support worker was stunned to discover she was eight months pregnant after she was rushed to hospital with 'stomach cramps' .