Pint- size Maci Winters only has one wish this Christmas - to be as tall as the other boys and girls on the school playground. Wearing her leopard print skirt and sparkly pink tights, six year-old Maci's big personality still commands the room- despite the 18-24 months label. The tiny school girl stands at just 99cm tall and weighs less than two stone - the same size as a toddler. Maci, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, suffers from a rare genetic condition called Russell-Silver Syndrome, a form of primordial dwarfism that affects 1 in 100,000 babies.
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .
POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO - Thousands of worshippers gather to celebrate the Papal visit on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro ,Brazil .
A young polar bear cub becomes the yogi bear as she stretches off for a morning aerobics session .
AN expectant mum suffered crippling contractions lasting a gruelling two months, due to complications from a rare condition .
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
A mum-of-three lost half of her body weight after her daughter was teased by playground bullies for having a 'fat mum' .
ARMED with her camera, bikini and flippers, this brave diver goes swimming with SHARKS .
Most people have an angel at the top of their Christmas tree, but one bear at Chester Zoo decided he wanted to be the star of the show .
A woman who has suffered over 200 allergic reactions in seven years, has been crowned a BEAUTY QUEEN .
LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .