Pictures Of The Day 16 January: Penguins, Elephants And A Church Made Of Snow

Pictures Of The Day: Penguins, Baby Elephants And A Snow Church

When it's a slow day in the news you can always rely on nature to provide a few nice snapshots to soothe the soul.

So it was in Mumbai, where a man in a bathing costume took pleasure in feeding the seagulls arriving from Siberia, and in Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica, where a group of Adelie penguins waddled their way across the ice for our photographic amusement.

In Australia it was the turn of Mali, the first elephant calf to be born in Oz, who stomped around in a pool at Melbourne Zoo. Meanwhile a cat imperiously sat on a box in China. Make of that what you will.

In Scotland a group of anglers took pleasure in nature in a different way - by taking in the bracing air and marking the start of the salmon fishing season with a pipe band and a wade in the water.

It wasn't all nature, however. The human race made its own bid for glory too. Some took it upon themselves to carve out a church made entirely of ice in Bavaria, while others busied themselves installing a giant pair of sunglasses in Islington to mark the opening of the 24th London Art Fair. A day to remember, indeed.