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Just in time for Valentine's Day, the love hearts of nature

With Valentine's Day just around the corner it's the time of year when love is in the air but as these pictures prove - it's all over the earth too.

These extraordinary images, taken by photographers across the globe, show Mother Nature is also gearing up to celebrate the big day with iconic heart shapes appearing all over the natural world.

The charming pictures capture Mother Nature's romantic side and feature several signs of love including an adorable fluffy penguin with a white heart emblazoned on its chest.

Other natural displays include a flamingo creating a heart shape with its white and pink plumage and two swans which appear to kiss as they form a heart shape with their necks.

Elsewhere a swarm of bees form an iconic heart as they hang from a tree and two mating dragonflies also form the universal sign for love.

It's not just the animal kingdom getting romantic though, a yellow tulip flower is pictured with red hearts on its petals and a bright red heart-shaped Red Anthurium flower can also be seen.

Meanwhile mysterious heart-shaped holes have also been spotted in tree trunks and rock formations around the world.

Green and pleasant land: Makepeace Island off Australia's Sunshine Coast is the perfect retreat for any romantic couple


The most adorable penguin in the world? This chick's white heart is markings are unmissable while a waterbuck's distinctive nose smudge is more subtle


Ticked pink: This rock formation in Nevada is both the shape and colour generally associated with love


Unconventional: Not immediately associated with romance, these damselflies (left) are seen mating while a huge number of honey bees create a heart as they hagn suspended from a tree branch


I'm forever blowing bubbles: A white Beluga whale produces a heart-shaped pocket of air for visitors at Harbin Polarland in Harbin, China


A flamingo with its beautiful pink and red feathers making a heart shape as it bends forward


Damselflies make the shape of a heart while balancing on a blade of grass


A pair of bee-eating Merops during nesting period in Israel


Fordy the cat looking for a rub under his chin and a similar-looking cat (right) with a bright pink nose and a heart marking on his fur at chest level


Swans getting intimate and forming heart shapes with their beaks and necks as they come together


The horse on the left boasts an almost perfect heart shape between its eyes. The sleepy-looking cat on the right bears a heart on its chest


A bug with a heart shape on its back (left) and a tulip opens up to reveal heart shapes on its petals


A heart shaped hole in a tree


Swan heart at Rutland Waters in October


Here you go love: A male lizard gives a female a flower and two snow monkeys cuddle up for warmth in Japan


The power of love: Two Indian elephants get close as they cross trunks


Best of mates: A Jack Russell gets a lick from a fox as they play in the long grass


Lean on me: River otters are pictured nuzzling each other on a log


Love is all around: Alpine marmots share a moment in a romantic setting


Love is in the air: Prairie dogs share a kiss in the sand and a lioness and a lion enjoy a cuddle in the African sun