FRIENDLY TOAD READY FOR HIS CLOSE UP

STARING eagerly into the camera, this little toad is full of curiosity. He bobs his eyes above the water and surveys the scene, ready for his close-up. These photographs were captured by French marine biologist Mathieu Foulquie, 39, after he spotted the friendly toad in the resurgence of a little river near Montpellier, France. Mathieu, of Montpellier, France, was investigating underwater in a river named 'la Bueges' when he put his hand on the river bed and the toad grabbed his fingers.

Other great stories
POLAR BEAR STRETCHES

Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .

AERIALS OF FLOODING ON SOMERSET LEVELS

Sam Notaro built his own flood defences to protect his four-bedroom home in Moorland, Somerset Flooding is likely to get worse around Somerset as groundwater levels continue to rise .

RED SMOKE AT NIGHT, VOLCANO SPOTTERS DELIGHT

With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .

BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS

BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .

I GAVE UP MY LADETTE LIFESTYLE – AND LOST OVER 6ST

A reformed boozer, who spent nine months partying in Magaluf, has shed over 6 stone after ditching her ladette lifestyle to become a fitness fanatic .

WELSH HOTEL ONCE HOME TO WWI SOLDIERS NOW LIES ABANDONED

A grand 56-bedroom hotel, once heaving with injured soldiers during the First World War, now lies completely abandoned .

CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .

PRISON HOTEL

FOR most people, spending a night locked up in a cell would be undesirable .

THE WORLD'S MOST UNUSUAL HOTEL COMPLEX

AN underground HOBBIT motel inspired by JRR Tolkien is just one of the unique places to stay at the world's most unusual hotel complex .

SLEEPING IN THE WILDERNESS

SLEEPING within touching distance of wild African animals might not be everyone's idea of a relaxing break .

CRICKET FINDS AN UNUSUAL SEAT

A cricket perches on an unusual seat after crawling up the snout of a crocodile .

CHEEKY MONKEY COOLS OFF IN APRIL SHOWERS

This cheeky chappie is getting into all kinds of monkey business as he enjoys cooling off on a scorching hot day .