Shepherds around the world – in pictures

Xinjiang, China: Kazakh nomads herding their livestock across a plain in Altay. The Altay region is situated in the most northern part of Xinjiang, sharing a border on the east with Mongolia and on the west with Russia Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Hyderabad, India: an Indian shepherd herds his sheep in the Osman Sagar lake, commonly known as Gandipet. The lake, one of the principal sources of drinking water in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, is now almost dry due to rising temperatures Photograph: Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images

Abbottabad, Pakistan: a Pakistani girl shelters from the rain under an umbrella while she and her father herd their sheep, near the site of the demolished compound of Osama bin Laden Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Bhubaneswar, India: a village boy leads his goat past a parched pond. Huge swathes of rural farmland has turned dry as farmers await the annual monsoon rains that, according to the Indian meteorological department, are expected to be on time this year Photograph: Biswaranjan Rout/AP

Bassiknou, Mauritania: a Malian refugee from Mbere refugee camp arrives to sell goats at the Jmaa market. The fighting in Mali has left more than 60,000 people internally displaced, and a similar number have fled to Mauritania and neighbouring countries Photograph: Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty Images

Islamabad, Pakistan: a young shepherd escorts his herd through the suburbs of the city Photograph: BK Bangash/AP

Hortobagy, Hungary: a flock of longwool sheep, known as racka sheep, graze in the pastures of the Puszta Photograph: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images

Jenin, Palestine: a Bedouin shepherd collects milk from his flock of sheep Photograph: Saif Dahlah/AFP/Getty Images

Lahore, Pakistan: a man washes his sheep on the bank of a canal during a hot day Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters

New Delhi, India: a woman with a goat in Delhi's Muslim neighbourhood of Nizamuddin Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Abbottabad, Pakistan: a youth uses a rope to pull his goat at the demolished compound of Osama bin Laden Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Kabul, Afghanistan: a shepherd leads his flock across a street through the old city. Poverty and an ongoing insurgency by the ousted Taliban still pose a threat to the stability of the country and traditional ways of life Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

Hyderabad, India: an Indian shepherd herds his sheep in the Osman Sagar lake Photograph: Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images

Jenin, Palestine: a sheep is pictured in a pen. UN agencies in the occupied West Bank reported last month that Israel destroyed 21 homes of Palestinian Bedouin refugees, making 54 people, including 35 children, homeless Photograph: Saif Dahlah/AFP/Getty Images

Niamey, Niger: a boy holds young goats at the Imbaidou refugee camp near Ayorou, where Malian refugees have found shelter. African Union chief Thomas Boni Yayi called for the creation of a UN-backed force to intervene in Mali, where Islamist militants and Tuareg rebels have declared independence in the north
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Islamabad, Pakistan: barber Faryad Hussein, center, shaves a customer's sheep, at the doorway of his shop Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Hortobagy, Hungary: a herd of Racka sheep are driven by a shepherd across the Nine Hole bridge from their winter habitat to their summer pasture in the puszta or Hungarian steppe Photograph: Zsolt Czegledi/EPA

Kisima, Kenya: a young Samburu herder, grazing her family's sheep during the day before attending evening lessons in solar-lit classrooms at Loltulelei primary school. The school has been set up for young children who are shepherds and unable to attend normal schools Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images