Around the world in 10 photos : Yahoo Photos

As Indian sadhus celebrate Makar Sankranthi with a dip in the icy river at Gangasagar, heavily decorated Kukeri dancers sway rhythmically in Bulgaria. As the Buddhist Kalachakra Festival gets underway in Bodhgaya, echoes of faith resound in Sri Lanka where Buddhist dancers sway in step at the annual elephant pageant. China releases zoo-bred giant pandas into the wild, while an Australian zookeeper wrestles with an American alligator, even as wildlife researchers report a new species of viper in Africa. Enjoy these fascinating images from around the world without moving a muscle. Who needs a visa?

RUSSIA: IN CELEBRATION OF SNOW

A woman works on a snow sculpture to be displayed at "Moroz (Frost) City"' snow festival  in Moscow, on January 10, 2012.  Twenty groups of architects and just as many groups of sculptors will use 1,000 cubic meters of snow and 500 blocks of ice to build the city on the territory of 2,500 square meters. AFP PHOTO / NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA

AUSTRALIA: FREE YOU LATER, ALLIGATOR

 

Reptile keeper Billy Collett tries to control American alligator 'Big Mumma' before raiding her nest at the Australian Reptile Park near Sydney on January 13, 2012. The park collects the clutch of eggs in order to artificially incubate them to determine the gender before distributing the hatchings to zoos around Australia.  AFP PHOTO / Torsten BLACKWOOD
 

BULGARIA: UNMASKING EVIL

 

Bulgarian "Kukeri" dancers perform their ritual dance in the village of Gabrovdol, late on January 13, 2012. The Kukeri Carnival is a festival of brightly coloured masks and costumes which marks the beginning of spring. Every participant makes his or her own multi-coloured mask covered with beads, ribbons and woolen tassels and bells tied around the waist are intended to drive away the evil spirits and the sickness.  AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF

GANGASAGAR, INDIA: AN ICY DIP IN GOD'S NAME

An Indian Sadhu (Hindu holy man) takes a dip in the sea at Gangasagar, some 155 kms south of Kolkata, on January 15, 2012. Some four hundred thousand Hindu pilgrims gathered at the Gangasagar Mela (Fair) to take a dip in the ocean at the confluence of the River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, a holy day of the Hindu calendar considered to be of great religious significance in Hindu mythology. AFP PHOTO/Dibyangshu SARKAR

CHINA: CHOW FOR THE PANDA

A panda eats bamboo in its new enclosure at the Chengdu Giant Panda Field Research Centre near Chengdu on January 11, 2012.  China released six, young captive pandas into semi-wild enclosures as part of a project aimed at helping the endangered bears adapt to the wild and eventually set them free.  AFP PHOTO / Ed Jones

BODHGAYA, INDIA: ONE WITH THE BUDDHA

Buddhist Monks and devotees gather to enter in a fun fair during the Kalachakra Festival in Bodhgaya on January 7, 2012. Kalachakra 2012, a festival of teachings and meditations will take place from January 1, 2012 for ten days in the northern Indian state of Bihar and will be attended by Tibetan Spiritual Leader The Dalai Lama. AFP PHOTO/Diptendu DUTTA

NEPAL: SHE WHO RIDES THE ELEPHANT

Nepalese female mahout Meena Chaudhary (left) guides her elephant at Sauraha in Chitwan, some 150 km southwest of Kathmandu. Meena is Nepal's first of two female elephant drivers, who have challenged the traditional male bastion of mahouts. Chaudhary, 33, was selected for the highly specialized role after being picked from a female-only shortlist of 15 candidates as part of a government scheme to get more women working in the public sector. AFP PHOTO/Prakash MATHEMA

TANZANIA: A SERPENT FOR MATILDA

This handout picture received from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on January 9, 2012, shows a newly discovered snake at an undisclosed location in Tanzania.  The striking black-and-yellow snake is called Matilda’s horned viper, measures some 60 cms and has horn-like scales above its eyes. The snake was named by Tim Davenport, the scientist who discovered it, after his daughter Matilda.  AFP PHOTO/HANDOUT/WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY/TIM DAVENPORT

SRI LANKA: THE GREAT ELEPHANT PAGEANT

Sri Lankan traditional dancers perform during the annual Perahera festival of the historic Kelaniya Buddhist Temple in Kelaniya on January 8, 2012. Hundreds of devotees and onlookers gathered for the annual elephant pageant, held on the night before the full moon day in January, to commemorate the visit of Lord Buddha to the temple. Dozens of colorful traditional dancers, drummers, whip crackers, fire eaters, musicians and devotees take part in the pageant that parades through the main streets of Kelaniya. AFP PHOTO/Ishara S. KODIKARA

COLOMBIA: AND YOU THOUGHT THIS PLANT COULDN'T HURT A FLY?

 

A Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) with a caught insect  is displayed during the opening of the exhibition of carnivorous plants at La Reserva biopark in the municipality of Cota, outskirts of Bogota, on January 13, 2012. The Venus Flytrap is a small plant with a set of leaves that are modified into 'traps'. The traps are lined with sensitive hairs that trigger the leaves to snap shut when an insect enters them. The insect is then digested within about ten days by digestive enzymes present in the trap cavity. These carnivorous plants inhabit soil that is poor in nitrates and have therefore evolved to seek nitrates from the bodies of insects.  PHOTO/Guillermo Legaria