WITH a paw in the air and his tongue hanging from his mouth, it is clear to see that this little groundhog is struggling to wake up and leave behind the comfort of his burrow. The groundhog takes a moment to stretch before quickly becoming aware that he's not alone. The adorable scene was captured in the Tonale Pass, a high mountain pass in Trentino Alto Adige, Italy, by freelance photographer Maurizio Lancini. The 39-year-old, of Rodengo Saiano, Brescia, Italy, says:"I spotted the entrance to the burrow so decided to hide nearby and wait for the groundhog to appear.
Pint- size Maci Winters only has one wish this Christmas - to be as tall as the other boys and girls on the school playground .
With the full moon looming behind him, this polar bear nestles down for the night .
Hot Air Balloon tour across Cappadocia, Turkey – With the sun rising in the distance and the spectacular landscapes below, these are the breathtaking views afforded from a hot air balloon flight in Turkey .
An intrepid photographer travelled to the abandoned ghost town of Bodie in northern California to capture the historic buildings that are trapped in time .
MEET the real life sleeping beauty - who snoozed for TWO months when a rare sleep disorder took over her life and turned it into a nightmare .
This longhorn beetle demon-strates a dark side as it looks just like the devil .
A woman whose face and body was left scarred for life by angry sores, caused by Lupus, has become a diversity model .
Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror .
From the tails of fighter planes to black and white checked buildings, graveyards take different and unusual forms around the world .
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
A group of whale sharks gather to feed underneath a fisherman’s boat off the coast of Papua, Indonesia .
A woman brutally beaten in a revenge attack has slammed the soft sentence handed to her assailant .