The Grand National springs to mind as the yearly highlight of the “sport of kings” – thoroughbred steeds and their brave jockeys triumphing (or failing) over gruelling courses and high-fenced adversity. And now steeplechase enthusiasts can add another event to the annuls of great sporting occasions, namely the Stuttgart rabbit show jumping. Here: Rabbit showjumping at an animal fair in Stuttgart, Germany, on November 16, 2014. (Photo by Action Press/Rex Features)

Shuichi Mizoguchi is the forerunner of Japanese digital graphic art. He is known for his fantastic Japanese feminine beauty imagery. SHU can get the best of his talent to use various colors freely and uniquely to create fantastic imagery of ancient scenery, robots on top of the Japanese feminine beauty. His imagery has been captivated by Japanese young and middle class generations.

This deviantART artist Wood-Splitter-Lee creates her own animal sculptures without the use of any dead carcasses. The basis of each animal's shape is made out of materials such as wood, clay and chicken wire, and is then wrapped up in a soft padding. On top of that, she adds imitation fur that she hand dyes and as many details and decorative elements as she sees fit. The result are truly one-of-a-kind fantasy creatures.

Two stags fight in a wildlife park in Aurach near Kitzbuehel, in the Austrian province of Tyrol. (Photo by Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press)

Meet the star students of orangutan school – the unique rehab centre where orphaned apes are taught how to climb trees and survive in the wild without their mum and dad. (Photo by Caters News)

Italian pencil artist Marco Mazzoni‘s work goes far beyond technical perfection. His representation of historical healing women is enigmatic and sublime. Often leaving the eyes blank or covered with an abundance of birds, butterflies and flowers, he gives the impression of a deeper inward focused sight, as well as obscuring the identity of the individual. Many female healers in the past – both medicine woman and midwives – were brutally persecuted by religion, some even burnt as witches… Mazzoni’s work captures their deep connection with nature and their innate power and femininity with delicacy and beautiful detail.

The pictures were taken by photographer Jorge Farfan and reveal the spiders’ bright colours. The 33-year-old captured the jumping, wolf, and lycosa spiders in a riverside field near his home in La Coruna, Spain. (Photo by Jorge Fardels/Solent News/SIPA Press)