Award-winning photographer Alex Bernasconi has captured thousands of images – from hiding hippos to wandering zebras – in his travels across Africa. His amazing work features in a new edition of his book Wild Africa. These amazing pictures create a snapshot of the life of some of the planet’s most spectacular animals and natural habitats. Photo: “Wild Africa”. (Photo by Alex Bernasconi)

Taken by photographer, Denis Budkov, 33, the Plosky Tolbachik is one of a cluster of volcanoes located in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia. After taking a lucky group of tourists to the crater of the flat volcano, the Russian photographer managed to get less than 300 metres away from the spurting jets of lava. Photo: The underground entrance to the volcano resembles a scene from the latest Hobbit movie. (Photo by Denis Budkov/Caters News)

This diver almost got sucked into the mouth of a massive whale shark as it feeds on plankton. But far from staring into the jaws of death – the shark, which are the sea's largest fish, is actually vegetarian. The relieved diver escaped from the encounter unscathed and continued to enjoy the presence of the incredibly docile animals. The stunning photograph, by Mauricio Handler, was taken during a feeding session where more than 600 of the huge creatures gathered to feed on tuna spawn. (Photo by Mauricio Handler/Daily Mail/Solent)

These otherworldly images give a rare glimpse inside caves barely ever seen by the human eye. With its peculiar pools of water and strange colored sediments, the bizarre looking tunnels of the Shakuranskaya cave could be a set straight out of a science fiction film. Found in the disputed region of Abkhazia, around 75 miles outside of Sochi, Russia, it is rumored the incredible underground chambers were formed after a huge earthquake struck the area in 1892. After causing part of a nearby mountain to collapse into the Amtkel River, it is thought the dam-like affect has created a series of interconnecting underground tunnels. Here: a large pool of water inside one of the tunnels. (Photo by Vladimir Mulde/Caters News)

Employee Sandra Jaeckel, at the photographer's request, adjusts a ribbon around the neck of a giant chocolate Easter bunny at the production facility at Confiserie Felicitas chocolates maker on April 9, 2014 in Hornow, Germany. Easter is among the busiest times of year for the chocolatier, which produces Easter bunnies and eggs in a wide variety of sizes and styles. Founded by Belgian expats Goedele Matthyssen and Peter Bientsman the company will soon celebrate its 21st year. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

This 1999 photo, supplied by HBO, shows a younger-looking James Gandolfini, who plays mob boss Tony Soprano, in an episode from the first season of the HBO cable television mob series, “The Sopranos”. Actor James Gandolfini, best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of a conflicted New Jersey mob boss in the acclaimed HBO cable television series “The Sopranos”, has died while vacationing in Rome, the network said on June 19, 2013. (Photo by Anthony Neste/AP Photo/HBO)

Dont get catty. These roar-some images show the moment two female tigers came to blows in a bitter dispute over territory. Rarely ever seen in the wild let alone on camera, the dramatic images show a white Siberian tiger and orange-coloured tiger slashing ferociously at each others face and eyes. The intense altercation erupted into violence when the smallest of the pair, the orange striped tiger known as Shadow, attempted to expand its hunting ground. But white tiger, TiBo, wasnt willing to give up the ground without a fight and was forced to use its size and weight to put Shadow firmly back in her place. (Photo by Alex Kirichko/Caters News/SIPA Press)