It's a Monk-hee-hee-hee! The macaque who makes himself laugh by tickling his own feet
This cheeky monkey couldn't help bursting out into a beautiful grin after learning how to tickle his own feet.
The long-tailed macaque was caught on camera in the Sacred Monkey Forest on the Indonesian island of Bali.
At first the cute primate appeared to be itching his toes - but he soon started to laugh as he tickled his feet.
Adorable: Biologist Natalia Paklina caught this long-tailed macaque on camera in the Sacred Monkey Forest on the Indonesian island of Bali
The adorable pictures were captured by biologist Natalia Paklina, 51, who was visiting the site near Ubud while on holiday.
Mrs Paklina, who has homes in Moscow, Russia and Enkhausen in the Netherlands, said: 'You are able to get quite close to the monkeys in the forest because they are used to humans.
Into the depths of the earth: Cave network in the heart of Vietnamese jungle is so large its end is yet to be found
These are the breathtaking images which capture the hidden depths of the world's biggest cave passage, which still has left cavers still searching for its end.
Hidden in the depths of the Vietnamese jungle lies The Hang Son Doong, part of a network of over 150 caves.
Discovered by British cavers in 2009, the cave passage in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was originally thought to be a modest 150 metres long and 200 feet high.
Intrepid journey: A caver stands in front of a huge rock formation as the light shines beneath a skylight in Hang Son Doong
But these remarkable images - taken during two further expeditions of the caves - show the previously undiscovered depths of the magnificent cave passage, now the largest in the world.
At a mammoth 2.5 miles long, 330ft wide and almost 800ft high, Hang Son Doong also known as Mountain River Cave, is as high as 25 double decker buses.
And as shown in these amazing images taken by photographer Carsten Peter, there is even a jungle concealed deep inside the cave.
Carsten from Munich, Germany, took the images in 2010 when he joined British and German cavers during further expeditions of the site.
Wonderful waterfalls: A waterfall explodes into Hang Son Doong in the hidden depths of the Vietnamese jungle, which is part of a network of over 150 caves
The purpose of the expedition was to make a complete exploration of Hang Son Doong and create a photographic record of the cave.
Cartsen, 52 said he spent up to two weeks at a time deep inside the caves, where he slept with just a sleeping bag and spent his time exploring and photographing the secret underground world.
He said: ‘We discovered new parts of the cave, it's a huge area so to find them and access them is very difficult.
‘Photographing caves of this size is a challenge, it needs a lot of preparation.
Going underground: Expedition members enter the cave, tunnelled out by the Rao Thuong River in Vietnam - the cave was discovered in 2009
‘But it's a great feeling to photograph a newly discovered cave, for me I see the cave for the first time when I see the photographs.
‘I love to explore, I have been in some great caves in my lifetime and this is one of the most magnificent.
‘I've been a photographer and explorer for the last 35 years and I've visited so many caves, I've lost count.
‘But this is by far one of the most unique and unusual caves I have ever seen.
‘To see a cave so large it has a forest inside is superb - it was overwhelming.’
Gigantic proportions: At a mammoth 2.5 miles long, 330ft wide and almost 800ft high, Hang Son Doong also known as Mountain River Cave, is as high as 25 double decker buses
Kitten gets in a spin after surviving hour-long cycle in a washing machine
They say curiosity killed the cat.
But eight-week-old kitten Princess is the exception, after the fluffy feline survived an hour-long cycle in a washing machine after she climbed inside.
Adorable Princess has definitely used up one of her nine lives after her ordeal, which began when she started exploring her owner Susan Gordon's new home.
Susan, 49, didn't see her sneak in - and promptly slammed the door and set the machine on a full wash cycle.
In a spin: Princess jumped into the washing machine before being set on a full spin
She was horrified when she spotted the little kitten emerging from the machine soaking wet and clinging onto a pair of jeans.
The distraught animal lover rushed Princess to the Vets Now emergency clinic in Kingswells, Aberdeen, for emergency treatment.
Princess had suffered a nose bleed and sore eyes during her wash and spin but recovered just two days later.
Careful kitty! Princess made a recovery after her wet and wild adventure
'She is so quick and just crept in when I wasn't looking,' Mrs Gordon, from Aberdeen, said.
'I was upset at the time but I am just really pleased she has made a full recovery.'
Senior veterinary surgeon Judy Drysdale, of Vets Now, said: 'Princess arrived very shaken up and shivering with a nose bleed and sore eyes.
'She was admitted to hospital for emergency care which included oxygen, IV fluids, diuretics to remove the water from her lungs, lubrication for soap damaged eyes and pain relief.'
Princess was also placed on heat pads to bring her temperature back up to normal levels.
Two days later, Princess was purring again and had regained her appetite
Vet Arlene Ortley of Vets Now added: 'Princess was very lucky to have survived her ordeal with no serious injuries.
'Thankfully she is safe and well, however I think she has certainly used up one of her nine lives.'
It's the ultimate in chill out snacks to help overheated bears cope with a summer heatwave - a five litre ice lolly.
The giant popsicles - made of chopped fruit, nuts, juices and ice - are being served up to European brown bears in Helsinki Zoo, Finland, to help them cope with sizzling temperatures.
And when the beasts have given the lollies a licking, keepers help keep them cool with deep frozen watermelons and pears.
"It's not only polar bears who like to be close to ice. These treats are a great way to top them getting too hot and bring their core temperature down," explained one keeper.
Dozy driver Wojciech Lapinski took a short cut to dodge traffic on a family day trip - and ended up out of his depth.
Lapinski, 35 - from Gdansk, Poland - didn't realise the tunnel had been flooded by a broken sewer and came to a halt in his Toyota in three feet of water.
Firefighters and police rescued the driver and his 86-year-old mum Izabella from the stranded car.
But she said: "It did put a bit of a dampener on the day."
A photographer has been quizzed by police after the crocodile he brought to a lake for happy snaps with holidaymakers escaped terrifying hundreds of swimmers.
The six foot long reptile - at Lake Shira in Siberia, eastern Russia - gave his owner the slip as he haggled with tourists over the price of a souvenir photo, reports local media.
Horrified swimmer Anna Luneva said: "I was swimming and suddenly realised there was a crocodile in the water. I was so frightened I almost lost my mind."Everyone was panicking," she added.
A special police wildlife unit eventually recovered the crocodile, which is recovering at a nearby aquatic centre."It was quite a young crocodile and there is plenty of food in this lake - swimmers. We didn't want him to escape and grow any bigger," commented an officer.
A"bee-attracting" competition in China 's Hunan province pitted two fearless bee keepers, Lu Kongjiang (above) and Wang Dalin against one another
Wearing only a pair of shorts and with a queen bee they reared to attract the swarms, the competitors stood on a weighing scale so the judges could determine who attracted more bees
The Guinness Book of Records has a category for "most pounds of bees worn on the body," reportedly held by US animal trainer Mark Biancaniello who attracted 39.5 kilos (87lb) of bees onto his body.
Mr. Wang (above) won the competition after he attracted 26 kg (57lb) of bees onto his body in 60 minutes. His opponent was engulfed by a mere 22.9 kg (50lb), local media reported.
A YOUNG woman has made medical history after being discovered with a third nipple on her FOOT.
Startled researchers believe the 22-year-old's case is the first of its kind.
Between one to five per cent of the population are believed to suffer from the condition, which is clinically referred to as supernumerary breast tissue.
If present, extra nipples tend to be found above the waist.
Pop star Lily Allen famously has an extra nipple on her left breast. Bond baddie Scaramanga also suffered from a similar condition.
Rare ... third nipples are usually found above the waist
But medical staff believe the nipple's appearance so far down the body, in this case, is a total one off.
It features in a report in scientific journal Dermatology Online.
Its authors wrote: "A 22-year-old woman sought medical care for a lesion in the plantar region of her left foot, a well-formed nipple surrounded by areola and hair.
Showing off ... Lily Allen shows off third nipple
"Microscopic examination of the dermis showed hair follicles, eccrine glands, and sebaceous glands.
"Fat tissue was noted at the base of the lesion. Clinical and histopathologic findings were consistent with the diagnosis of supernumerary breast tissue, also known as pseudomamma.
"To our knowledge, this is the first report of supernumerary breast tissue on the foot."
They went on to report it had been there since birth. There were no complaints of pain, and it remained looking and feeling the same. No one in her family had a similar condition. And it now measures four centimetres in diameter.
The report added: "Supernumerary breast tissue, known as SBT, is rarely found beyond the mammary line. But they have been seen before on the back, shoulder, face, and even thigh."
A pregnant woman with a constant craving for furniture polish has been diagnosed with a rare eating disorder after her three-times-a-day habit forced her to seek medical advice.
Seven months pregnant Emma Veness, 26, is inexplicably drawn to eating polish despite her own fears she could be harming her baby.
Craving: Emma Veness said she first started sniffing her dusters but then started
to eat polish straight from the can
After the first time, Emma said she was determined not to do it again but every day her craving comes back with a vengeance, leaving her desperately searching for snacks in the cupboard under the sink.
Since her unusual habit started she has consumed three whole cans and now worries her craving will never go away.
Emma, from Birmingham, was first drawn to the cleaning product a few months into her pregnancy and now says she must eat it two or three times a day to keep her cravings at bay.
Her strange obsession with non-edible items started as a child when she began eating bubbles out of her bath - something she has done ever since.
As she grew up, Emma found herself drawn to the smell of cleaning products and anti-bacterial handwash but it was not until she fell pregnant with her first child, daughter Darcie, now 11 months, that her obsession with polish began.
To begin with, she would sniff the dusters as she went about cleaning the house she shares with her partner, Gavin Wallis, a 27-year-old bricklayer.
But by the time she fell pregnant with the couple's second child, a little girl expected in October, she began eating the polish straight from the can.
Disorder: Ms Veness said the GP told her to eat a chocolate bar instead but that
has done nothing to ease her condition
Emma said: 'I can't explain why I like it, I think it has a lot do with the texture and how it feels in my mouth. I normally spray a bit on my fingers and lick it off or I spray a bit on the duster and suck it.
'For ages Gavin had no idea what I was up to. I would be polishing the TV and I would turn my back to him to have a taste of it. When he found out he was not happy at all.
'My mum goes mad about it and has tried to get me to stop. The funny thing is both her mum and Gavin's grandmother had cravings for coal when they were pregnant.
'It's quite embarrassing; I've tried all the different brands but Asda Smart Price polish is the one that does it for me. The others are all too perfumed.
'The thing that really worries me is that it might not go away after the baby arrives. After Darcie was born my craving for sniffing polish and cleaning products stayed permanently and all my friends who had had babies were over theirs.
'While I'm pregnant I try to stop myself and limit it to just a few times a day, as I'm scared of harming the baby. But I know that if I only had myself to think about I would be eating can after can of the stuff.
'I'm only 26 and I don't want to be eating furniture polish in my 50s.'
Emma said she rarely drinks, has never smoked and tries hard to live a healthy lifestyle. But when it comes to her addiction, only polish will do.
Realising she had a problem, Emma, who suffers from low iron levels, went to her doctor to see if there was something she could do to curb her weird habit.
She said: 'I went to my GP and she just told me to stop doing it. I had looked up (the medical disorder) "Pica" on the internet and she confirmed that's what it was but she just said to have a chocolate bar instead.
'"I feel so guilty about doing it as I don't know whether it might be harming the baby, but I could have a million chocolate bars and it wouldn't make any difference - when I want polish, it's the only thing that will do.'
Emma describes how sometimes she wakes in the middle of the night craving the taste of polish and has in the past lain awake for hours trying not to give in to the urge before eventually succumbing in order to get back to sleep.
She said: 'I find it's worse if I am bored or stressed. If I'm keeping myself busy and running around after Darcie, I am all right. But as soon as I stop to sit down or watch a bit of TV, I think to myself: 'I want some polish now.'
'Once I've started thinking about it, it's so hard to stop. I imagine it's what addicts must feel like as eventually I start to feel sick if I haven't had some and I inevitably give in just to make the sick feeling go away - it's like I'm suffering from withdrawal.
'Certain things make me crave it even more, like simply talking about it or when adverts for polish come on the telly.'
Emma, a secondary school teaching assistant, added: 'I just wish someone could help me stop, but no one seems to know how to help me or what to do. Most people have never even heard of Pica.'
A spokesman for Beat, the eating disorders charity, said doctors needed to educate themselves about Pica.
He said: 'It's important that any individual has a well-balanced diet and if they are worried that something like this is affecting them they should seek help at the earliest opportunity.
'We do on occasion get people coming to us to say they are suffering from this condition. It doesn't provide any nutritional intake at all and can have long term health implications. Particularly when someone is pregnant, it's important to provide suitable nutrition for them and the growing baby.
'We would urge GPs to make themselves more familiar with this condition and other disordered eating patterns so people can get the help they need.'
Pica is a form of eating disorder. More information and help can be found at Beat and the National Centre for Eating Disorders
In the fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty is a princess sent into a 100-year slumber by an evil witch. A kiss from a handsome prince breaks the spell, and they live happily ever after.
The present-day "Sleeping Beauty," as the media calls her, is a 17-year-old woman in Worthing, England, named Louisa Ball. Instead of the fairy tale's poisoned splinter, her curse began with flu-like symptoms two years ago.
"Bad cold, temperature ... and from then on that's when I started to sleep," she said.
She wouldn't stop for 10 to 14 days.
Her parents would rouse her for bathroom breaks and ravenous feedings.
"She'd go through a whole packet of biscuits, or ... five or six packets of crisps -- anything that she could get her hands on," said her father, Rick Ball. "It was a case of almost like a hamster hibernating, and the food would get stuffed in. And you'd have to step in and say, 'Whoa, that's enough.'"
Her mother, Lottie Ball, added, "I asked to see a dietician ... because I was concerned when Louisa was in an episode that, you know, she is missing out on all the goodness."
The advice she got was to give Louisa smoothies, whic h gave her food and fluid at the same time.
Even so, Louisa would lose as much as 10 pounds during a sleep episode. Even odder than her eating habits was her behavior, which featured offensive, almost primal, mood swings.
"They're horrible. They're scary, it's like a different child," said Lottie Ball.
The parents knew a sleep episode was coming when their otherwise sweet-natured daughter would snap at others inappropriately.
"When she's up and she's confrontational, those were the scarier moments," Rick Ball said.
The year before college, Louisa slept for a solid week every month. She missed weeks of school and fell behind in her beloved dance classes.
"I missed my end-of-school exams, obviously, because I was in an episode," she said. "I've missed, like, family holidays, birthdays and parties."
The doctors were as baffled as Louisa's parents.
"To see all the various medical professionals and not get any answers ... it was pretty frustrating," said Rick Ball. "Everything goes through your mind, and you wonder whether or not she has taken a drug."
Then came a breakthrough, courtesy of a consultant in London to whom the family was referred.
"I always refer to it as the 'Champagne and hangover' moment," said Rick Ball, "because we went in there and the good news was, 'I think I know what's wrong with your daughter.' And the bad news was, 'There's no cure.'"
Louisa was diagnosed with Kleine-Levi n Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder that some researchers say disrupts the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates appetite, sleep and libido.
KLS more often afflicts males, usually beginning with a virus during adolescence that seems to trigger the sleep and aggressiveness, along with hyper sexuality.
Mood stabilizers like lithium and hormone therapies help those with KLS around the edges, but they don't ward off the extreme sleep.
"[When I wake up] I'm always confused as to what day it is, because I don't know how long I've slept for," Louisa said. "And then when I realize, I'm like, 'Wow, that's a long time!'"
How does she feel when she wakes up?
"Refreshed," she said.
Her sleep episodes have become less frequent. She recently went five months without one. According to experts, KLS sufferers can grow out of it after 10 to 12 years.
As Louisa's story grew in the media, headlines called her "Sleeping Beauty," and KLS is known as Sleeping Beauty syndrome.
If someone cast a spell on Louisa, there must be a handsome prince coming in some form. Romantically speaking, she said there was no prince in her life, at the moment.
The prince could take the form of a cure, and Louisa's family contributes to the KSL Foundation in California to help speed his arrival.
In either case, Lottie Ball said, "We're waiting for the handsome prince."
Sisters Blasted Off the Sofa as Massive Lightning Bolt Causes Home to Explode
Sisters catapulted off sofa when storm triggers electrical explosion
A family are lucky to be alive after they were thrown into the air when their home was struck by lightning. Rebecca Weir and step-sister Lauren Deeble were catapulted clear of their sofa after a thunderstorm triggered an electrical explosion at their home in Newark, Nottinghamshire. Rebecca's son Harrison had been sitting where the lightning struck - but had run outside to look for hailstones minutes before it happened.
Storm damage: Rebecca Weir, right, her mother Davina, centre, and step-sister
Lauren Deeble stand in the devastated living room
The strike has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, including two huge holes in the living room walls.
Rebecca said: 'We were just sitting watching Hollyoaks, and Lauren said something about the lightning outside and how she didn't like it.
'I laughed at her and said "it's not going to hurt you" - but a couple of minutes later there was a massive bang.
'We both flew off the sofa. Lauren was hysterical, she couldn't breathe. I had to drag her out of the house.'
Watch manager Brian Smith, based at Newark Fire Station, said the two women were lucky to be alive.
'One minute we were watching Hollyoaks': Rebecca and Lauren in the living room
where they were thrown from the sofa during the powerful thunderstorm
He said: 'I have never seen anything like that before. It has caused quite a substantial amount of damage.' All the electrical equipment that had been plugged in has been ruined, including television sets, kitchen appliances, and Harrison's portable DVD player. Rebecca said: 'I had only just finished decorating the house and getting it the way I wanted it.
'Now I can't even live in it. It's the only home I've actually called home for me and Harrison, so I really want to go back.' The two women were taken to hospital by ambulance, suffering from shock. Rebecca's mother, Davina Weir, who rushed around to help, said: 'They are so lucky to be alive.
'One of the firefighters said in 12 years he had never seen anything like it. It was more like a bomb blast and he can't believe there weren't any fatalities.'
A drive in the clouds: Flying cars could be in UK skies in five years
It's a concept that’s been around for decades but never really seems to get off the ground. But aviation experts are now saying a flying car could be in regular use in the UK within five years after a model was formally approved by U.S. authorities. The $250,000 (£155,000) Terrafugia Transition is a two-seater aircraft which has a top speed of 115mph, a range of 500 miles on a tank of fuel and requires just 20 hours training to fly.
Nice wheels: The Terrafugia Transition sits in the driveway of a house... but it will still need to be washed every Sunday
Pie in the sky: The idea of a flying car has finally got off the ground. Drivers will be able to lift off from almost any long straight road - traffic permitting
At the touch of a button it takes just 15 seconds for the wings to fold up automatically and the power to be re-routed from the propeller to the rear wheels. It can then be driven at up to 65mph and will comfortably fit in a standard size garage. ‘It’s like a little Transformer,’ said Terrafugia founder Carl Dietrich, referring to the children’s toys that were turned into a blockbuster movie franchise.
Although aimed primarily at buyers in the U.S. where there are plenty of airstrips and 600 ‘fly-in’ communities – Boeing 707 owner John Travolta being the best-known fan – more than 20 Britons have already declared an interest in the carbon-fibre vehicle. Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson, who set a world record for a cross-Channel journey in an amphibious car, said: ‘What a great idea. I’d absolutely like to hear more and I’m going to look into it myself.’
On the road: At the touch of a button it takes just 15 seconds for the wings to fold up automatically
Gas guzzler: Drivers can fill up on high-octane unleaded auto petrol for the flying car
The U.S.’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration paved the way for the flying car to be rolled out after recently announcing exemptions to allow it on American roads. The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed such backing meant it would be relatively easy to be granted clearance by the European Safety Agency, based in Cologne. Spokesman Jonathan Nicholson said: ‘Safety standards are very similar between there and the U.S.’ The project, which began in 2006, appeared doomed as recently as last summer after expensive design changes costing £12 million were demanded.
High-fliers: More than 20 Britons have already declared an interest in the carbon-fibre vehicle
In the cockpit: The flying car has been tested by pilots and aviation experts believe the vehicle could be on the UK's roads in five years
These included introducing a stability control system and fitting tyres that could be used on public roads as well as runways. But it was saved when the U.S military awarded a £40 million contract to develop a flying Humvee. Two prototypes are now nearly finished and few changes are expected to be needed before the final model is ready to roll off the production line next year. One of the 100 customers who have already paid a $10,000 deposit is Sherry Grobstein, a software engineer from Massachusetts who currently flies a Cessna 150.
Bouncing back: The project, which began in 2006, appeared doomed as recently as last summer after expensive design changes costing £12 million were demanded
Getting off the ground: The Transition, pictured with a chase aircraft, soaring through the skies
A builder, who suffered a fall on a construction site, is lucky to be alive after a steel bar penetrated his jaw and bedded 15 centimetres into his skull.
Wu Moude had been working on the construction site, in Quanzhou, southern China's Fujian Province, for just two months when the accident happened.
The 22-year-old underwent surgery for five hours, which to remove the 1.2cm thick bar.
Doctor Zhuang Cong'en from South East Hospital said: "When the patient arrived he was already in a coma."
"It's very rare to see such severely injured patient," Doctor Zhuang added.
Visitors to a Ukrainian zoo will get the chance to see a new attraction after the zoo's owner decided to move into a cage - with a pride of lions.
Aleksandr Pylyshenko will be fed through the bars at the same time as the lions and says he will remain there - sleeping in the cage and playing with the big cats for five weeks.
Pylyshenko explained: "One of the lions is pregnant - I plan to see the cubs being born and spend some time with them but then I will move out."
The 40-year-old added: "The living conditions will be absolutely the same for the lions and me. We will sleep on wooden floorboards and have food given to us through bars."
There will be four webcams planted in the cage. They will provide both experimental integrity and broadcast the 'reality show' on the internet.
During the experiment at the zoo in the city of Vasilyevka in south-eastern Ukraine, Aleksandr, a keen artist, is going to continue his art work.
The paintings created will be sold to raise money for the zoo.
Cubism... with a twist: Artist recreates iconic images using thousands of RUBIK'S CUBES
An artist has given some of the most iconic portraits of celebrities a unique twist - by recreating them using thousands of Rubik's cubes.
From Michael Jackson to Madonna, the mind-boggling creations are the exact replica of their real life famous faces.
But the colourful portraits are more than just a mirror image, because they appear to jump off the wall thanks to clever subtleties in shading and depth.
Cube caricatures: Josh Chalom recreates iconic portraits and pieces of art, like this one of Marilyn Monroe, using only Rubik's Cubes
King of Pop - art? Michael Jackson gets the Rubik's Cube treatment and, children's favourite Spongebob Squarepants in all his cubic glory
The collections images of musicians, celebrities, politicians as well as recreations of famous Pop-Art pieces and classics like the 'Mona Lisa'.
They are the brainchild of artist Josh Chalom, who along with a team of more than 30 people painstakingly piece and twist the creations together.
He said: 'I simply love the art form - I'm fascinated by old Atari 8-bit video games so this is the perfect medium for it.
'I've been doing this for a little over three years now and have no intentions of slowing down either. It's not so much a hobby but a passion in my life.
'Each one is hand twisted so depending on the size it takes anywhere from two or three days to a week or two to finish, but it all depends on complexity and planning for it.
'The biggest piece so far is the Hand of God - it's 29ft by 14.5ft and we used 12,090 cubes for that. It should be a Guinness record by next year.'
A snip at half the price: Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands is recreated using thousands of cubes
Leaving an impression: Josh Chalom recreates The Hand of God from the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican
Mr Chalom, 52, has built a team of collaborators from graphic architects to 'cubers'.
The aim at his Cubeworks base in Toronto, Canada, is to get more people involved in old masterpieces.
He said: 'We specialise in things that people will come and say "wow" at - the more over-the-top the better in our eyes.
'Other people are doing it but no one else has gone to the size or scope that we have.
'They do it and sell it for £10,000 a piece - we do it for art and charge a 10th of that.'
And the winner is....: Held as part of the Sonoma-Marin Fair, the World's Ugliest Dog Contest event bestowed a $ 1000 prize for top honors. In this photo, Yoda greets fans following her victory at the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma.
Handsome Hector, right, waits backstage at the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma. At left, fellow contender Icky eyes Hector, a pure bred Chinese Crested who won his division at the Sonoma-Marin Fair event
Hercules, a blind one-eyed 15-year-old pug, competes in the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma. Held as part of the Sonoma-Marin Fair, the event bestowed a $1000 prize for top honors.
Ratdog, a 14-year-old Chihuahua mix, competes in the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma. He was born deaf and toothless, but did not win the Sonoma-Marin Fair competition
A judge evaluates Yoda during the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma. The 14-year-old Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix took top honors winning $1000 and a plethora of pet perks at the Sonoma-Marin Fair
A judge evaluates Yoda during the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma. The 14-year-old Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix took top honors winning $1000 and a plethora of pet perks at the Sonoma-Marin Fair.
Yoda, the diminutive winner of the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest, squares off against a boxer named Pabst on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma. Yoda took home $1000 and a plethora of pet perks after winning the Sonoma-Marin Fair competition.
Yoda reaches out for her victory trophy after winning the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma. A a 14-year-old Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix, Yoda took home $1000 and a plethora of pet perks during the event at the Sonoma-Marin Fair.
Yoda, a 14-year-old Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix, prepares to compete in the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 24, 2011, in Petaluma. The winner of the competition, hosted at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, wins $1000 dollars and other pet perks.
Somewhere over the... moonbow: Dazzling arc of colour lights up night sky at Yosemite National Park
This dazzling arc of colour soaring across the night sky looks unreal.
But this is no fantasy or trick of the light, it is known as a moonbow, the rainbow of the night.
These rare lunar rainbows can only be seen in a few places on earth.
Spectacular: Sunlight is reflected off the moon to create this dazzling arc of colour in the Yosemite National Park
The Yosemite National Park in California is one of the best places to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.
Sunlight reflects off the moon and hits the droplets spraying off the park's spectacular waterfalls.
'A lot of people don't realise that we even get rainbows at night in Yosemite,' said Steve Bumgardner who took these images as part of a new video of the spectacle.
Phenomenon: The moonbows are created when light from the moon hits the sprays of water coming off the park's waterfalls
Captivating: The moonbows are best seen when it is full moon and there is more light being reflected into the park
Starry sky: The moonbow looks incredible in the dark sky filled with stars
Rare: The Yosemite National Park in California is one of the few places on earth where you can catch a glimpse of the phenomenon
'If there's a full moon and the sky is clear, the moon, which is just reflected sunlight, is actually enough light to generate a rainbow at a place like Yosemite Falls.'
The remarkable spectrums of lights are best seen at the park during the spring and summer seasons.
'Yosemite is a 24-hour park and its well-illustrated by the numbers of people who are going to go out all night long to take pictures of moonbows,' said park ranger Bob Roney.
Dazzling: These spectacular images are part of a new video made by the National Park to showcase the phenomenon
Catch a glimpse: The remarkable spectrums of lights are best seen at the park during the spring and summer seasons
Attraction: People come from across the globe in the hope of seeing the rare night time rainbows
Gushing: The incredible waterfalls in the Yosemite National Park spray water into the moonlight, which creates the moonbows
'From the night skies and Milky Way to the full moon rising to create these lunar rainbows, the beauty here doesn't end when the sun goes down,' Mr Bumgardner said.
'You can have a unique experience 24 hours a day in Yosemite.'
'It has its own romantic sense to it,' he said. 'It's ethereal.'
Adorable: Biologist Natalia Paklina caught this long-tailed macaque on camera in the Sacred Monkey Forest on the Indonesian island of Bali
