Animals: Curious and funny

A sleepy sea lion has a quick rest on a bench before she is interrupted by a young pup.The female decided to avoid the sand as she stretched out lazily on the wooden bench, but she was soon interrupted by a young pup curious to see what was going on.Wildlife photographer Sam Rowley, 20, spent two months in the Galapagos Islands, near Ecuador, and had the chance to explore Puerto Villamil, on Isabela Island, where these photos were taken.Sam, who is currently studying biology at the University of Bristol, said the benches were often a cause of dispute as sea lions tried to rest on them."The sea lions did a little running jump and leapt onto the bench, which is exactly what the pup in the photos did."They often clambered over one another before jumping off and trying to cause trouble elsewhere

A young fox is captivated by the image of the Virgin Mary on a gravestone and looks as though it has stopped to pray. The fox was spotted wandering around the cemetery in Montreal, Canada and was drawn to this grave in particular. Vlad Kamenski, 42, spotted the fox by chance as he was sitting in his car in the hope of seeing some birds to photograph. The professional photographer said: "The fox was staring at the gravestone and then started to move towards it and then jumped on top of it." Vlad and the fox were completely alone in the cemetery and once it had spotted him he had to be wary of scaring it off.

A lizard looks like an unlikely dentist as it examines the mouth of a sharp-toothed crocodile. The dragon forest lizard peered right into the croc's mouth and then proved how comfortable the two are together by climbing onto the predator's back for a little break. The pair certainly make an unlikely couple as they spend time together in the grass. But photographer Hendy Mp said that because they are pets they are relaxed in each other's company. The 25-year-old from Sambas, Indonesia, took his pets to a field for a chance to stretch their legs.

These brave gulls managed to snatch a quick meal from the beak of a flamingo. The seagulls swarmed to attack the flamingo as it desperately held onto a fish it had caught. Giangiorgio Crisponi captured the battle on camera as the gulls closed in on the much larger bird at a lake in Sardinia, Italy. The 74-year-old said: "While I was driving along the trail of the lagoon I saw a group of gulls and flamingos eating an abundant amount of small fish. "Some gulls found it easier to take food from the beak of flamingos rather than catch their own fish. "The flamingo tried to move away and stop the seagulls from carrying off his prey and the three seagulls circled around him

This plucky mother antelope ignores the golden rule of 'pick on someone your own size' and squares up to a whopping rhinoceros in a bizarre stand-off.The brave mum refused to back down when the three-tonne beast came a little too close to her newborn calf - and at one point even clashed horns with it.The protective mother antelope, called Ramina, kept her days-old baby Phoenix behind her at all times as she valiantly charged at the massive rhino, called Njanu, despite it being 15 times heavier.The unlikely scene was caught on camera by staff at Longleat Safari Park in Wilts

These fox cubs look like they've fallen head over heels but they're actually practising crucial hunting skills. The litter mates jumped and landed on their imagined targets as they practised pouncing on make-believe prey. Despite their small size, the cubs were able to jump around a metre into the air and took it in turns to practice their impressive pounces. Photographer Vladislav Kamenski said he had never seen fox cubs manage so many jumps in a row. The 42-year-old spotted the pair, believed to be around four months old, in Boucherville, Quebec, Canada. He said: "I felt very, very lucky to witness this behaviour and capture it with my camera

A brave bee risks getting eaten by a lizard by landing on its head. The female dragon forest lizard got a surprise when the bee flew down to rest on its head as it crawled along a branch. In some pictures it looks like the lizard is about to extend its long tongue to try and eat the insect for its lunch. Teenage photographer Frenki Jung captured the moment behind his house in Sambas, Indonesia

How do my stripes look? A visitor to a wildlife park seemed to make a new friend when a zebra stuck its head through his car window - and posed for a SELFIE... or is that ZELFIE?? Malte Woestefeld, a 24-year-old business administration student, was on a day trip to Zoo Safaripark in Holte-Stukenbrock, Germany on 18 April. Malte explains: "As we drove through into the area where the zebras, antelopes, rhinos and lots of other animals were we approached this friendly zebra waiting on the side of the road

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