Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards Finalists Announced
Annual competition showcases humorous animal moments while supporting conservation efforts.
The finalists for this year's Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have been revealed, featuring a diverse array of amusing animal behaviors captured by photographers worldwide. The competition, founded in 2015 by professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam, received over 10,000 entries from 112 countries, marking a record for the event.
Among the notable finalists are images such as a brown bear appearing to perform morning calisthenics in Alaska, an orangutan seemingly reacting negatively to being photographed in Borneo, and a squirrel in Germany captured in a dynamic, almost looming pose. Other highlights include a giraffe in Kenya with what looks like a tree for a hat, a praying mantis in Peru whose legs are interpreted as human limbs, and a spadefish dwarfed by a whale shark in the Philippines.
![A leopard leaps down from its perch in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya]( "The Handstand", by Homagni Sahana (India))
The awards aim to promote wildlife conservation, with this year's competition supporting the Born Free Foundation, an international charity focused on rescuing and protecting wild animals, conserving threatened species, and preserving their natural habitats.
"The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards started very gently, somewhere out on the vast plains of the Serengeti," said Tom Sullam. "What began as a small effort to raise awareness of wildlife conservation has grown into something far bigger than we ever imagined. The competition is now truly global, and a decade or so on, we want to make it even bigger, funnier, and more far-reaching than ever. We use humour to get people to feel empathy towards wildlife, and it's that empathy that creates behavioural change for the better."
Other humorous shots include a badger cub taking a break in Sweden, an owl in China with a seemingly disgruntled expression, and a brown hare in the UK appearing embarrassed. A long-tailed macaque in Singapore captured in what looks like a painful accident and a baby elephant peeking out of grass in South Africa also made the finalist list.
Photographers from various countries, including the USA, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Peru, Vietnam, India, and the UK, have entries featured. The competition's goal is to use humor to foster empathy for wildlife, ultimately driving positive behavioral change for conservation.