From a wise old owl on the prowl in a field of beautiful buttercups to an intrepid harvest mouse climbing up a spring flower.
Wildlife photographer Richard Austin, the author of two books on his encounters while working with all creatures great and small, has captured nature in all its glory with these snaps of animals enjoying British blooms.
Who are you calling an ugly duckling? These feathery friends find a hiding place among the buttercups
Hello petal! A meerkat tries to sweet-talk a daffodil
Danger mouse: A daring harvest mouse scales a bloom
Not to be sniffed at: This lamb likes the smell of daffs
Eye say: A cheeky week from a wise old bird
In the pink: A piglet nestles between rose blooms on a farm in Devon
These aren't bananas! A gorilla at Paignton Zoo sniffs a bunch of roses
Cunning hiding place: A fox cub looks out from beneath a bunch of daffodils
Quacking snowdrops: A pair of ducklings play among spring flowers
Million pound pooch: Multi-millionaire Kenny Lai with one of his Tibetan Mastiff dogs at his home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Multi-millionaire Kenny Lai owns an incredible 30 Tibetan Mastiffs, the most expensive breed of dog.
He bought nine thoroughbreds three years ago for £3.2million and has since bred them into a collection worth millions of pounds.
The massive animals are being homed in a purpose-built kennel at Lai's penthouse apartment in Kuala Lumpur.
Scroll down to see Tibetan mastiffs talked about on the Richard And Judy show...
They roam around their 5,000 square metre air-conditioned compound and have a team of caretakers, trainers and vets who look after Lai's prized possessions 24-hours a day.
Tibetan Mastiffs, which hail from the contested country north of the Himalayas, can live to 14 and weigh up to 20 stone - carrying an almost mythical status in Asia where they are often referred to as the god of dogs or king of dogs.
In the 13th century, explorer Marco Polo described the animals as being 'as tall as a donkey with a voice as powerful as that of a lion'.
Dog house: Lai at home with some of the members of his fluffy £8million pack
Genghis Khan is thought to have taken 30,000 of the animals with his army when he tried to conquer Western Europe.
But numbers have dwindled and it is estimated 90 per cent of breed died during the Yushu earthquake last year.
Lai, a Malaysian entrepreneur, wanted to ensure the Tibetan Mastiff's survival and began a breeding programme.
He scoured the world in search of 100 per cent pure breed Tibetan Mastiffs and bought nine animals for a staggering £3.2million.
He explained: 'We practically scoured the world in search of the best possible 100 per cent pure breed Tibetan Mastiffs, in order to kick start these plan.
'This eventually resulted in the procurement of nine of these magnificent animals, valued at approximately £3.2 million.
'Over the last three years or so, we faced much trials and tribulations in raising, feeding, grooming, caring and in the overall maintenance of these dogs.
'It was a tough learning curve for the group but this has led to an in-depth understanding of the behaviours and challenges faced, in nurturing this species.
'We now pride ourselves as having the largest number of 100 per cent pure breed Tibetan Mastiffs anywhere in the world.
'Based on the latest market value paid, our 30 furry friends are now valued at well over £8 million.'
Locals believe Tibetan Mastiffs have the souls of monks and nuns who were not good enough to be reincarnated as humans or to go into Shambhala, the heavenly realm.
Under control: One of the dog's trainers shows how placid and cuddly the hulking hounds actually are
A lot of dog: A red Tibetan mastiff called Big Splash, or Hong Dong, sold for £945,000 in March
In recent years there has been a massive increase in demand for the pets - with a Chinese fan spending £945,000 on an 11-month old Mastiff in March.
Big Splash, or Hong Dong in Chinese, was a red Tibetan Mastiff and was described by his breeder as the perfect specimen.
Kennel Club communications director, Caroline Kisko said: 'Tibetan Mastiffs can make great family pets with their calm and patient yet protective nature and it's great to see them being viewed so favourably.'
Up to speed: Tuly the tortoise is now faster than all her friends after having a wheel fitted to replace a leg after a rat gnawed it off while she hibernated
Tuly the tortoise is really coming out of her shell after she was fitted with a child's toy tractor wheel after a run-in with a rat left her with only three legs.
Vets fitted the tiny wheel with the help of some velcro to take the place of her severed front right limb last month - and she's already racing around on her new prosthetic attachment.
Her ordeal happened when the voracious rodent decided to chew off the appendage while the tortoise, thought to be about 45 years old, was fast asleep during her winter hibernation.
Scroll down to see another tortoise on wheels...
But experts think she somehow managed to fight off the rodent and save her life despite her sleepy state.
After vets had operated to save her life at the end of last year, Norfolk Tortoise Club in Norwich called vets to fit the wheel to get her fully mobile again.
Eleanor Tirtasana, the club's chief re-homing officer, said: 'She can now scoot around freely and gives her mates a run for their money at feeding time.'
The op was carried out last month after her father Philip Chubb had engineered the new limb after buying a toy tractor at a car boot sale.
He explained: 'She was mobile but very off balance and slow. We knew we needed to think of something that would help her without hurting her obviously.'
'She was rubbing away her shell because it was scraping along the ground when she walked. It was a problem that would have lead to more complications.'
However, Mr Chubb the operation had been such an immediate success, she'd instantly become speedier than before.
He mused: 'She clearly didn't mind having it on and seemed delighted to scoot off to feed on the weeds.
'She's now actually the fastest tortoise we have which is rather funny.'
Cracked it: Norfolk Tortoise Club's chief re-homing officer Eleanor Tirtasana proudly shows off Tuly after her wheely great operation
Eleanor said many tortoises are struggling to recover this spring from a tough hibernation because of the harsh winter.
She explained: 'Unfortunately, many tortoises froze during hibernation in sheds or suffered ill effects from excessively low temperatures.
'Tortoises need monitoring during hibernation, and we are always available to help people who contact us for advice.
'We know far more nowadays about these reptiles and how they function than we did when they were imported in the 1960s.
'All the tortoises that have survived living in the damp UK since then are now reaching old age and, like us, require a little more help in their later years.'
A spokesman for the group added: 'We see many tortoise cases involving damage caused by rat, fox and dog attacks.'
Hitching a ride: The pair of cygnets snuggle themselves into their mother's feathers as they ride along the water at Abbotsbury Swannery
They should take to swimming like, er, a duck to water.
But why bother when you can ride the Mummy Express instead?
These fluffy cygnets opted for the drier – and lazier – option during a family outing in the sun.
A mother's love: The swan uses her beak to tend gently to her cygnet ahead of it's journey
Photographer David Parker said: 'Their mum seemed to be teaching them to swim at first but they soon tired and decided to hitch a ride. They were certainly travelling in style.'
Many cygnets have arrived earlier than usual in the UK this year because of the warm weather.
At Abbotsbury Swannery, on Chesil Beach, Dorset – where this family was pictured – more than 120 pairs of nesting swans have already hatched their cygnets.
All aboard: The two cygnets take their seats in the Mummy Express during their drier - and lazier - outing in the sun
First class travel: The mother swan uses part of her wing to assure that the cygnet is securely in place
Cute: These cygnets are part of the offspring of more than 120 pairs of swans at the swannery in Dorset
The first arrived almost two weeks earlier than usual.
The Benedictine monks who owned the swannery until the 1540s apparently believed the arrival of the first cygnet signalled the first day of summer.
And aptly the first cygnet to arrive this year was named 'Sunny' by swannery staff.
Happy birthday: Dunder the German Shepherd reaches one, having been photographed from eight-weeks old
This short video shows a dog growing from eight-weeks old to one-year old in only 40 seconds.
The YouTube clip shows pictures on the same spot of Dunder the German Shepherd over a period of ten months and has become an Internet sensation.
The time lapse video was uploaded on May 19 and has already attracted nearly 700,000 hits.
Tiny: As a puppy Dunder is so small (and the floor is clean) - this is the beginning of the series of pictures
In the video Dunder is shown as a tiny puppy obediently looking at a camera on what looks like a family kitchen floor.
As the video filters though more pictures as he grows up the floor become more and more dirty.
But Dunder is growing quickly and the days of him as a cute puppy are soon gone.
Occasionally children's feet and even another dog can be seen in the images, which become increasingly more humorous as time goes on.
A bit bigger: The German Shepherd is shown with his tongue out, but still looks a little unsteady on his feet
Bigger dog: Looking firmly at the camera Dunder gets taller and stronger all the time
Big dog: As Dunder approaches his first birthday he begins to look more like an adult dog
The dog can be seen wearing various items of clothing, too, and when his birthday comes around the photographer holds up the number one and Dunder poses with a birthday hat on his head.
One YouTube poster called Dupalle said: 'I just can't decide wether (sic) this is more awesome, cute or funny!!
'Definitely made my day though! Thanks for sharing!'
Woof customer: The dog is dressed up in all manner of costumes - but it's only when you slow the film down that you can see the outfits
Props: Dunder is handed what looks like a potato peeler - and he is surrounded by potato skin
-Amazing jumping cockroach and glowing fungus also make top 10 list -10million species waiting to be classified, say experts
Strolling along: The hopping pancake batfish, discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, moves like a walking bat on its arm-like fins
It looks like a pancake, crossed with a fish, and a bat... with arms. And it hops. So it's no surprise scientists have labelled one of their new discoveries the hopping pancake batfish.
The creature is one of ten 'new species' to have made it onto a list of weird and wonderful creatures published today.
Joining it is the 'T-rex leech' - a bloodthirsty 2inch invertebrate which was discovered when it was pulled from the mucous membrane of a girl in a remote region of Peru.
Fearsome leech: Tyrannobdella rex has a mouthful of gigantic teeth, much like its namesake, the 'king of dinosaurs' Tyrannosaurus rex. It was found up the nose of a nine-year-old girl in Peru
Strong little fella: This new species of orb-weaver spider - found in Madagascar - is able to weave webs large enough to span rivers and lakes while, right, among the new plant life identified was this gilled mushroom - found in a river in Oregon, U.S. - which fruits underwater
Flies beware: An example of the orb-weaver's massive webs
As well as the Tyrannobdella rex leech - which has a mouthful of gigantic teeth, much like its namesake, the Tyrannosaurus rex - there is also a 6ft-long fruit-eating lizard and a glowing tree fungus on the list.
There is also a jumping cockroach, a cricket which is the only pollinator of a rare orchid, a spider that weaves webs large enough to span rivers and lakes, and a gilled mushroom that fruits underwater.
Experts made the selection from thousands of plants, animals and microbes described for the first time last year to draw attention to the importance of conserving life on Earth.
'Beautiful': This luminescent fungus - found in Sao Paulo, Brazil - attracts small insects that help to disperse its spores
I'm new in town: This 6ft-long fruit-eating monitor lizard from the Philippines is on a list of 10 new species drawn up by scientists
Scientists say that 'a reasonable estimate' is that there are still around 10million species waiting to be described, named, and classified before the diversity and complexity of the biosphere is understood.
A somewhat more attractive example of a new species is the striking fruit-eating monitor lizard, Varanus bitatawa, from Luzon Island in The Philippines.
At 6ft 6in in length, it has a blue-black body mottled with pale yellow-green dots and spends most of its time in trees.
Another large species on the top 10 list is Walter's duiker, Philantomba walteri, an antelope first encountered at a bushmeat market in West Africa.
At the other end of the size scale is an iron-eating bacterium found growing on the submerged wreck of the Titanic. Halomonas titanicae could provide a useful function in helping to dispose of sunken ships and oil rigs.
The list was compiled by experts at the International Institute for Species Exploration, based in Arizona State University in the U.S.
Its director, Dr Quentin Wheeler, said: 'At the same time that astronomers search for Earth-like planets in visible space, taxonomists are busily exploring the life forms of the most Earth-like planet of all, our own.
'We can only realistically aspire to sustainable biodiversity if we first learn what species exist to begin with.
'Our best guess is that all species discovered since 1758 represent less than 20 per cent of the kinds of plants and animals inhabiting planet Earth.
Spreading the word: This cricket - found in the Mascarene Archipelago in the Indian Ocean - is the only known pollinator of a rare orchid
Up and away: This cockroach- found in the Mountain National Park in South Africa - has modified legs that puts it on par with grasshoppers; right, a rust-eating bacterium, discovered on the wreckage of the Titanic, recycles sunken human creations so that the constituents can be re-used by others
'A reasonable estimate is that 10million species remain to be described, named, and classified before the diversity and complexity of the biosphere is understood.'
Details of the top 10 species of 2010 were published on Arizona State University's website on the 304th anniversary of the birth of Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus.
Linnaeus pioneered the system of plant and animal classifications and names which is still used today.
Dr Mary James, from Wichita State University in the U.S., who chaired the international committee which drew up the list, said: 'Each of these amazing species discoveries tells a story about our planet.
'They are pieces of the puzzle that help us to understand how all of the components of life on earth work together.
'That beautiful, luminescent mushroom: its all-day glow attracts small insects that help to disperse the mushroom's spores.
'The rust-eating bacterium: it recycles even the most titanic of human creations so that the constituents can be used by other creatures.
'I think that the top 10 species helps to bring attention to the pieces of the puzzle that are still waiting to be discovered, whether it's in your own backyard, a health clinic in Peru, in the deep ocean, or a market in West Africa.
'Biodiversity science is all about exploration and discovery - cool stuff.'
Interesting design: This circular dog house mimics the circular movement of a dog as it curls up to sleep
It’s a good chance to buy a new house without taking out a crippling mortgage. But the only problem is you won’t be able to live inside - as it’ll be for your dog.
Trent Tesch, of Kohn Pedersen Fox, in New York, is just one of many designers making new types of dog houses.
One of his specials is a circular dog house that mimics the circular movement of a dog as it curls up to sleep. He told CBS News that the animals are great clients.
Camper van: World-famous artists are scaling down designs to fit all sizes of pooch
'They're very good - they can't really speak back, they can't give you other direction, which is good, but they need things,’ he said.
‘They need light, they need air, they need shelter - they need all of the basic things that everybody needs’.
On display: These pooches help model two very different types of dog houses
Books have even been written on the subject - such as Barkitecture by Fred Albert, which looks at some of the most ridiculous dog houses ever built.
Brian Pickard, of Pickard Design, made the ‘[Sub]urban Doghouse’, which was named one of the best projects of the year by celebrity designer David Caldwell.
Content: This dog looks exceptionally happy with his new red and white home
'People who really, really love modern and contemporary architecture but may not be able to afford a really great modern house, can afford a little piece of mini modern architecture,’ Mr Pickard told CBS News.
Kate Benjamin, of Phoenix, Arizona, runs the Modern Cat blog and said that modern cat scratchers, perches and litter boxes have also been designed for cats.
‘Dogs are very transportable - cats are not,’ she said. ‘Cats really need to stay at home - that's where they're more comfortable.
Ideas: Trent Tesch of Kohn Pedersen Fox is just one of many designers making new types of dog houses
Original: Some of the doghouse designs rival their master's domain - such as this impressive modern effort
‘I think the cats really are fine with a cardboard box and a paper bag - but Modern Cat is about accommodating both the owner's design sensibility as well as the cat's needs,’ she said.
But if you don’t own a cat or a dog, then you could always spend $7,000 on the environmentally-friendly ‘Chicken Co-Op’ coop - a ‘luxury residence for poultry.’
One of the coops bought by a chicken owner can be found overlooking New York’s Central Park.
'That may actually be nicer than my own house,’ designer James Ramsey said.
Double amputee John Reinke has an amazing ability and can cuddle big cats including seven-foot male lion Bonedigger
Lions and tigers aren’t usually the sort of animals you’d want to get close to, but that’s exactly what double amputee John Reinke likes to do.
In fact, he’s discovered an incredible ability to get so close to such animals that he can cuddle them. He only released his sensitive skill after a bungee jump accident caused him to lose both legs.
The dad-of-two has a particularly special bond with Bonedigger, a seven-foot male lion, who like John also suffers from a disability due to brittle bones.
Cub love: John says of his disability: 'Bringing up Bonedigger and Tony helped me recover'
‘Bonedigger won’t act like this with anyone else,’ says John as he sits with the 320lb lion draped across his lap. ‘He never shows me aggression at all.
‘When I am having a bad day with my legs, just being with him makes me feel better. ‘I know he knows that we are both disabled.’
John, 43, first came into contact with the big cat through his work at the G.W Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. He bottle-fed Bonedigger, now 18 months old, from birth, and the pair are now the closest of pals.
Speaking about this special bond John added, ‘He’s like a dog and when he hasn't seen me for ages he gets all excited and runs up to me.’
Nothing about the relationship between the pair is normal; Bonedigger was hand-reared by John along with a tiger named Tony.
Father-of-two John lost his legs as a result of a bungee-jumping accident
‘They used to live with me in the house. I raised them both with bottled formula and raw meat until they grew too big for the house,’ said John.
And even though they’ve moved out Tony and Bonedigger aren’t far from John - the cats share an enclosure next to the house John usually lives in with the other keepers.
‘Tony is perfectly healthy, but is a bit too playful. When Bonedigger senses that I am losing control of the play, he snarls at Tony and you can tell he is being protective and telling him to stop.’
Bonedigger, a seven-foot male lion, also suffers from a disability due to brittle bones
John, who works at the GW Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, bottle-fed Bonedigger from birth
Bonedigger was hand-reared with a tiger named Tony, and the pair of big cats now have a joint enclosure next to the house shared by John, the owner and other keepers
John is currently at home in Texas with his family as he undergoes further medical treatment for his legs and shoulder but that won’t be the last of his time with the big cats.
While John is away park staff are looking after Bonedigger and Tony. But everyone is looking forward to the return of their inspirational keeper as clearly John is irreplaceable.
But John isn't the only person with this unique talent to cuddle big cats, Traudi Riegger shares a special relationship with Zuba, a rate African white lion.
Dubbed, the Lion Queen, Traudi can happily pose with her arms inside the 14-stone lion's jaws. This pair formed their rare bond from Traudi's work at Mystic Monkeys & Feathers wildlife park in Limpopp, South Africa.
Three's no crowd: When Bonedigger senses John is losing control of the play, he protectively snarls at Tony and tells him to stop
On the prowl: John Reinke isn't the only one who can cuddle up close with the king of the jungle, Traudi Riegger shares a close bond with two-year-old Zuba, a rare African white lion
Maternal instinct: These two rare liger cubs would have died were it not for the milk from this dog, who has become their adopted mother
Cute: The two liger cubs are held up by a feeder
Happy family: The cubs suck milk alongside their new siblings
Single life: The cubs' mother, a Manchurian tiger called Hua Hua, abandoned them after a couple of days
Maternal instinct: These two rare liger cubs would have died were it not for the milk from this dog, who has become their adopted mother
Cute: The two liger cubs are held up by a feeder
Happy family: The cubs suck milk alongside their new siblings
Single life: The cubs' mother, a Manchurian tiger called Hua Hua, abandoned them after a couple of days
