I'm having you ... for lunch: Awesome display of shark's power as it closes in on seal

By MARY MCCONNELL Awesome power: The seal fails to escape from the great white shark off the coast of South AfricaIn a breathtaking display of power and agility a seal tries to escape from the jaws of a great white shark seconds before it becomes lunch. Travelling through the water at an incredible speed the tiny cape fur seal is dwarfed by the enormous shark, which is hunting off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa.The incredible series of images show the constant struggle for survival for the animals that live on Seal Island in False Bay where around 12,000 seal pups are born each November and December. Ocean battle: The great white shark attempts to grab the sealTaken over three years by wildlife photographer David Jenkins, these pictures illustrate exactly why great whites are considered...

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The surreal wonderland of creepy-crawlies: Photographer creates fantasy world - on his kitchen table without digital trickery

By GARETH FINIGHAN Slugs, snails and other creepy-crawlies might not be to everyone's taste, but as these photographs reveal, they can help create stunning works of art.Photographer Nadav Bagim has created a surreal wonderland of giant toadstools, pastel skies and brightly-coloured flora in which insect characters roam.Nadav, 30, from Ramat-Gan, Israel, took up photography three years ago and immediately became interested in shooting nature and macro landscapes. Magical world: These out-of-this-world scenes were created in Nadav's kitchen using insects he found around his homeHe finds his subject matter - spiders, crickets and other bugs - in and around his apartment, and shoots most of the scenes on a kitchen table.Titled The Wonderland Series, Nadav, a science student, said: 'It is being...

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This keeper should remember that elephants never forget: Calf is hauled by his trunk to get on the weighing scales

By EMMA REYNOLDS Ouch: The zookeeper pulls on the baby elephant's trunk as she resists climbing on to the weighing scalesZookeepers in Germany appear to have come up with a novel way of getting reluctant baby elephants to behave.These pictures, which some may find disturbing, show a young man dragging a resistant calf by the trunk to get it on to the weighing scales for a check-up at Wuppertal Zoo in Germany.Uli is one of around 5,000 animals of 500 different species living at the park, who all have to be counted, weighed and measured each year to see if they are developing as they should. Distress: The calf looks frightened as she rears away from the weighing scales during the annual check-up Weighty problem: Uli's face is pressed into the ground as the man continues to pull her towards...

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Who won the Jaws versus Killer Whale death match? Shark comes off second best

By RICK DEWSBURY Predator: The fin of an orca breaks the surface of the water as it stalks the school of sharks close the shore Swimmers might think twice about cooling off at this beach.The normally placid waters were transformed into a spectacular feeding ground as a group of orca whales attacked a school of sharks.The sharks had been swimming close to the shore on Boxing Day at the Blue Cliffs Beach in Tuatapere, New Zealand as the orcas - also known as killer whales - stalked them through the sea.Moments later the hungry whales sent the feared fish scattering through the waves as they sprung their assault. Tussle: Fins and tails flap into the air as the feeding frenzy beings at Blue Cliffs Bay in New ZealandIn a spectacular display of natural predators at work, the whales herded the...

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Putting the PAN in chimpanzee: Kanzi loves nothing more than a good fry-up, skipping a few million years of evolution in the process

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE Skill with a skillet: After slaving over a hot stove, Kanzi tucks in to his creationEagerly he collects wood from the ground, snaps the branches into small pieces and carefully balances them in a pile. Then, taking care not to burn himself, he gently strikes a match and gets ready for a fry-up.Like all red-blooded males, Kanzi loves messing around with a barbecue. But then, as these extraordinary pictures show, Kanzi is no man. He is a bonobo - pygmy chimpanzee - and his love of fire is challenging the way that we think about our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.For although bonobo apes and larger chimpanzees use twigs and leaves as tools, none has ever shown such skill for cooking food. Kanzi is one of eight bonobos in the care of Dr Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, one of...

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Feeling more than a little peckish: Birds jostle to eat fleas from backs of antelope

By LUCY BUCKLAND Form an orderly queue! Bank myna birds graze on fleas from the antelope's fur in Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, IndiaIt was definitely a case of you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours as these birds queued up to snack on fleas from the backs of strolling antelopes.And these nilgai antelopes were more than happy to provide a resting place for dozens of bank myna birds who plucked irritating fleas from their backs in Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India.The nilgai were feeding in their grassland home when the birds decided they wanted a snack of their own and landed on their backs, necks and heads. Photographer Chhotu Khan, who lives in the national park, said it was a rare phenomena for all the birds to land in such a formation.Amazingly, the nilgai did not seem...

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OK, who's going to take away his lawnmower this time? Grumpy crocodile steals machines from park keepers to play with in pool

By ANTHONY BOND Grumpy: Elvis the crocodile decides to steal a lawnmower off a worker at the Australian Reptile Park They are among the most fearsome creatures around, often attempting to eat humans and large wild animals.But workers at a reptile park in Australia were left amazed today when its grumpiest crocodile decided to steal a lawnmower.Employees at the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney, realised something was wrong when they heard one of the keepers let out a yelp. 'It's mine': Elvis takes his new toy into his lagoon and keeps guard of itWhen they looked up they saw 16-foot giant saltwater crocodile Elvis lunging out of his lagoon at reptile keeper Billy Collett, who attempted to ward off the huge crocodile with his lawnmower.Tim Faulkner, operations manager at the park, said:...

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Gentlemen look away: Angler snares deadly fish that killed two men by biting off their testicles

By NADIA GILANI Brave: Jeremy Wade, pictured with the ferocious 'Ball Cutter' fish which has killed two men by biting off their testiclesAn intrepid British angler today told how he snared a predator which kills men - by biting off their testicles.Fearless Jeremy Wade, 53, spent weeks hunting for the fish in remote Papua New Guinea after locals reported a mysterious beast which was castrating young fishermen.He finally unmasked the perpetrator as the Pacu fish - known locally as ‘The Ball Cutter’ - and managed to catch one in his small wooden fishing boat. Fierce: The pacu fish have human-like teeth and powerful jaw musclesMr Wade wrestled the 40lb monster on to the floor of his boat and opened its snapping jaws with his naked hands - to discover a jaw-dropping array of human-style teeth.The...

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