A woman has spoken of her heartbreak after she was rejected by an adoption agency because of her pregnancy phobia .

HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .

SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .

STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .

A woman who starved herself to look like Cheryl Cole has told how she shrunk to just under 5st 13lbs after developing anorexia .

KICKING back and relaxing with his arms outstretched, this chilled-out frog appears to be loving life as he takes some time out on a water lily leaf .

Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms .

With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .

A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .

Red squirrels are well known for their intelligence and curiosity but when one snapper caught this furry little guy trying to take his own self-portrait he couldn't help but be taken aback .

A floating market in Indonesia is bursting with vibrant colours as wooden rowing boats loaded with fruit and vegetables crowd the river .

A woman brutally beaten in a revenge attack has slammed the soft sentence handed to her assailant .