Wonderful Wildlife

ORPHANED chimpanzees enjoy getting up to mischief after being rescued in Guinea

A PHOTOGRAPHER has made an unusual new best friend – a female ruffed grouse

A RAMPAGING circus elephant lifts a car off the ground, a jaguar ambushes an unsuspecting caiman, and an 80lb dog won its weight loss battle - these are just some of the incredible moments that feature in Barcroft TV's animals and pets 2015 round-up

A COWARDLY lion climbing a tree to escape a herd of buffalo, a Brazilian bodybuilder who injected himself with oil to look like the Incredible Hulk and a man abseiling into a lava lake are just some of the incredible images that feature in Barcroft Media's 2015 end of year round-up

THESE terrapins give new meaning to the term 'water taxi' as they hitchhike a ride on the back of a HIPPO

GREAT white sharks leap out of the water before crashing back down to kill their prey

RAVENOUS seagulls battle each other in the sky in these incredible close-up photographs

BOISTEROUS polar bears enjoy a harmless scrap in the snow - standing up on their back legs and trading blows like professional boxers

SCRAPPY sparrows try to establish a peck-ing order as they swipe at each other mid-flight

AN ELEGANT hippo falls back in the water and raises its leg in the air - with the style and grace of a synchronised swimmer

A RESCUE group dedicating to protecting the sun bear - the smallest bear species in the world - has just released its first bear back into the wild

LURKING underneath a tourist boat in the Philippines swims one of the biggest fish in the world - a whale shark

MAGNIFICENT humpback whales surge through the ocean as they make their annual journey from the Antarctic to the South Pacific

MILLIONS of swirling bats blot out the sub-Saharan skies during their spectacular annual migration

MAGNIFICENT hunting eagles soar through the skies of Western Mongolia in a spectacular show of their predatory talents

PLAYFUL puffins get up to mischief on the picturesque Welsh island of Skomer

A COLOURBLIND photographer is using his deficiency to snap beautiful photos of insects and nature that are invisible to the human eye

A BABY rat snake breaks free from its egg as it begins to explore its new surroundings

A CHEEKY frog enjoys life in the slow lane as he hitches a ride on the back of a snail's shell

A FEARLESS daredevil comes face-to-face with a four metre long American crocodile in an extraordinary photo-shoot

A MONSTROUS-looking spider devours its prey in these incredible close-up shots

ADORABLE baby elephants showed off their best wrestling moves during a playfight in Tanzania

BREATHTAKING aerial photos show elephants strolling across the plains of Southern Kenya- with some images capturing the devastating effects of poaching

MAJESTIC stingrays glide through crystal blue waters in stunning underwater split-shots

A LEOPARD leaps into a muddy waterhole to catch a fish in the Savuti Channel in Botswana

CURIOUS hyraxes peer over a branch as they watch an adder on the rocks below

A FEARLESS snake catcher rescues some of the world’s most dangerous snakes using his bare hands

AN ANGRY baboon chases off a cheetah that was trying to share its waterhole

PLAYFUL young hippos show their teeth as they splash around in the water

BLUE WHALES move majestically near the surface of the ocean as an awe-struck diver watches on

ACROBATIC bonobos roll around in the water and playfight with each other in a stream

A BOAT full of lucky tourists get the chance to meet a friendly group of grey whales

FEROCIOUS male zebras traded blows in a fight that lasted more than four hours

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: A TEAM of surgeons successfully removed the lens from a 330-pound male lion’s eye

A SLEEPING warthog had a rude awakening after being attacked by a leopard mid-slumber

A HIPPO bites down on an impala after the helpless animal ran into troubled waters

A NAUGHTY tiger cub gets an earful from its mother after encroaching on her quiet time

A COCKY hyena walks around carrying a lion’s decapitated head as a trophy

This extraordinary photograph was captured by 29-year-old Field Guide, Arno Pietersen

A HUNGRY leopard had to work for its lunch when it spotted a huge python wedged in the branches of a tree

A HAND-REARED penguin that was terrified of water has learned how to swim with the help of her keeper

A LIONESS plucks a bird out of the sky and shares the meal with her cubs

PLAYFUL macaques jump up at tourists and cause mischief on the streets of Gibraltar

A MOTHER bear snubs a hapless suitor whilst digging for clams in Alaska

A GREAT white shark fighting for its life on a sandbar was rescued with the help of beachgoers

Hungry male lions wrestle with an antelope on a tarmac road, creating an unexpected display for waiting motorists

DOLPHINS break through the waves as awestruck surfers look on

A CURIOUS warthog saved her bacon - evading a basking crocodile’s jaws by inches

A POD of majestic sperm whales interact with tourists off the coast of a Caribbean island

A PAIR of adolescent polar bears clash in a dramatic display of play fighting

FEISTY fox cubs show their teeth during a playful scrap

TERRAPINS take a break from the water and rest on the back of an enormous hippo

CREEPY crawlies look almost extraterrestrial in a series of super macro images

A COUGAR sinks its teeth into a wolf in an epic battle to the death caught on camera for the first time

A BIRD of prey had to be rescued after getting trapped upside down in a tree

A GREAT WHITE shark opens its jaws to the camera as it shows off its pearly whites

LIFE under and above the ocean is captured in these stunning landscape photos

A HUNGRY hippo terrified a group of children by racing towards them in broad daylight

CURIOUS manatees interact with snorkelers in the fresh water springs of Florida’s Gulf Coast

SLEEPY baby warthogs slump over their mother’s back as they snooze in the mid-morning sunshine

A HUNGRY Golden Eagle feeds on a dead fox in the snow-covered mountains of Flatanger in Norway

A HUNGRY lion bites off more than he can chew after trying to feast on a hippo carcass

Hundreds of colourful butterflies from all over the world, fill a new tropical exhibit at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire

AN UNDERWATER photographer came face to face with a majestic elephant while traveling down a river

THE KING of the Jungle was left with his tail between his legs after escaping a herd of angry buffalo – by climbing a TREE

Playful tiger cubs splash around in a water hole, as they escape the baking heat of India’s dry season

CHEETAHS are known for speed, accuracy and grace – but this agile predator humiliated itself after falling into a JEEP full of tourists

FEROCIOUS lions trade blows in a violent DUST-up while competing for the affections of the same female

A RAVENOUS crocodile tosses around a zebra carcass, as it rips off chunks of flesh with its jaws

A BRITISH wildlife photographer has documented the rescue and release of endangered orangutans

A PRIDE of lions left with their tails between their legs after being held off by a tiny snarling fox

A POD of playful dolphins are filmed swimming alongside a boat by a flying drone camera

A MASSIVE python devours a full size goat after sneaking into the village of Garkhuta in West Bengal, India

THIS grizzly 'bear-yoncé' seems to have caught the dancing bug - as it grinds up against a pole in front of stunned tourists

HUNDREDS of dolphins appear to fly above the water in a feeding frenzy

THIS regal lion proves he is the ruler of 'Pride Rock’ after imitating a famous scene from Disney’s The Lion King

Johnny Welde only needs the bare necessities in life - the 13 bears that live in his backyard

MOST people would get out of the water at lightning speed if a hammerhead shark approached

THESE adorable and rare images show a polar bear cub exploring the outside world for the first time

CHEETAHS may be the world's fastest land animal – but even they can use a helping hand

A LONE lioness shows her determination - single-handedly felling a towering giraffe

MOST people would run a mile if they saw a snake in the house – but a young photographer is out to prove they are misunderstood creatures

A GROUP of young seals delighted divers with their amorous behaviour

A TOURIST got some amazing holiday snaps - swimming just centimeters away from a CROCODILE

UNSETTLING video footage shows a shark prowling in the BACKYARD of one stunned Florida resident’s home

WHAT a scaredy-cat! This is the moment a leopard jumps into the air after being startled by a WARTHOG

A PHOTOGRAPHER has captured a bird’s eye view of the stunning Namib Desert from a PARAGLIDER

A PHOTOGRAPHER spent eight days in a remote jungle without electricity to capture the world’s most beautiful hummingbirds on camera

A PAIR of foxes viciously fight to the death in a battle to claim a lone Vixen

AN ANGRY hippo tosses a small calf into the air as if it were a doll