It's often said that pets and their owners can start to look alike, but these adorable photographs take the old mantra to a new extreme. They are the work of Svetlana Valyiskaya (27), from St Petersburg, who snaps pets in everyday poses in her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer. The vibrant costumes and scenes, which Svetlana designs herself, have made the photos a hit in her native Russia – and it's not hard to see why. She said: “I really love animals, they are loyal, faithful and true and always interesting to work with – plus they never criticise the photographs afterwards”. (Photo by Svetlana Valyiskaya/Mercury)

In this photo taken on Saturday, January 26, 2019 photo, rescued flamingo chicks have access to water at a centre after being rescued from a dried out dam in Kimberley, South Africa. A special airlift for thousands of baby flamingos is under way in South Africa as drought has put their breeding ground in peril. A reservoir that hosts one of southern Africa's largest flamingo populations is drying up. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

A shoebill is displayed at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo August 28, 2012. (Photo by Itsuo Inouye/Associated Press)

A squirrel digs into a pumpkin in Washington, U.S., November 28, 2022. (Photo by Amanda Andrade-Rhoades./Reuters)

A ten-week-old North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) is handled during a routine health check in the Zoo of Debrecen, northeastern Hungary, 30 January 2024. The female cub, which was born on 21 November 2023, belongs to a leopard subspecies that is endemic to the forest habitats of Northern China. (Photo by Zsolt Czegledi/EPA/EFE)

A firefighter holds a red panda (Ailurus fulgens) from its tail while removing it from a tree at a residential area in Kunming, Yunnan province, July 3, 2014. The animal was spotted in the residential area and was brought down from the tree after residents reported its sighting to the police, local media reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A Poison Ivy and Boba Fet (Star Wars) cosplayer during the MCM Birmingham Comic Con at NEC Arena on March 18, 2017 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Ollie Millington/Getty Images)