Why would you want to buy a Christmas tree if you have a luscious full beard? Or maybe you have a friend that is willing to volunteer? Just glue some ornaments onto his facial forest and make him stand in the corner. Just don’t forget to feed him! You don’t want your Christmas tree to go bad before the holidays are over! Stephanie Jarstad had created something similar in her project, The Twelve Bears of Christmas, in order to honor the Decembeard (much like Movember), in order to bring awareness to Men’s health problems. (Photo by Stephanie Jarstad)

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)

A 15-year-old girl denied a horse from her parents has turned to a cow to fulfil her riding dreams. Teenager Regina Mayer, from southern Germany, is able to ride her cow, Luna. She has even trained her bovine pet to soar over a beer-crate hurdle like a regular show jumper. Why, you may well ask, when most cow-owners are surely content to let the creatures chew and lactate and sit down to indicate the imminent arrival of rain? Well, Regina's parents wouldn't let her have a horse.

A replica of the truck made from matchsticks by Janusz Urbanski is pictured at his flat in Ruda Slaska, Poland May 4, 2016. Janusz Urbanski has a one of a kind chessboard he never plays, a personalised guitar he does not strum and a boat he cannot sail. Why? They are all made from tens of thousands of matches. For the last 40 years, the former Polish miner and ironworker has harboured a passion to build replicas of objects, buildings and famous sites with just matchsticks and glue. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

A fisherman with a close bond to cormorants uses the flock of birds to catch big fish in Li river in Guilin, China. The aquatic birds can be seen perching on a bamboo raft before swooping into the calm water to grasp hold of prey. (Photo by Julia Wimmerlin/Solnet News & Photo Agency)

In this image released on April 18, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town perform “Wine, Beer, Whiskey” at the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards on April 18, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Brent Harrington/CBS Handout via Reuters)

A Hawaiian cleaner wrasse provides its cleaning services to a yellowfin goatfish in a reef community off the Big Island in Hawaii. Cleaner species help rid their hosts of ectoparasites, dead tissue, bacteria and fungi. Studies have shown cleaning to play a vital role in keeping many reef ecosystems healthy. (Photo by Marty Snyderman/Caters News Agency)

Kevin Kvasnicka (L) and Jesse Gonzales openly carry firearms as they watch U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speak on a big screen television along East 4th street during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., July 21, 2016. (Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters)