Wildlife photography is usually all about capturing animals at their majestic best. The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards turn this concept on its head and is all about celebrating animals making themselves look rather foolish. This year’s awards attracted over 2,200 entries, which have now been whittled down to the top 40. Whether it’s a chuckling owl or a monkey having a snowball fight, the following are 10 of our absolute favourites.
Exasperated Meerkat
Meerkats always look so happy and care free but this certainly doesn’t seem the case for this creature in Little Karoo, South Africa. The photo caught the perfect comedy pose, which made the meerkat look like they’d just arrived home only to remember they were supposed to pick up some milk from the shops!
Dropped Catch
Pelicans are renowned for being expert fishers but this poor bird in Kerkini Lake, Greece, doesn’t seem to have mastered its hunting technique. The photographer caught the perfect moment as the pelican looks devastated to see its catch wriggle out of its mouth and fall back into the water below.
Fox Face-plant
We’re not quite sure what this fox was attempting to do at Yellowstone National Park in the US, but we absolutely love the result! Maybe it heard a rabbit moving underneath the snow or needed to cool down as quickly as possible, but whatever reason caused it to dive headfirst into the snow, this is by far the best fox face-plant we’ve seen in 2016!
Snowball Fight
It seems it doesn’t matter whether you’re a human or a monkey, everyone loves a good snowball fight! This perfectly timed photo captured an excited baby monkey with a snowball in its hands, eagerly looking around for someone to throw it at.
The Munchies
This cheeky chipmunk must have thought all its birthdays had come at once when it stumbled across this juicy corn on the cob. It certainly made the most of the tasty treat though and proceeded to stuff its cheeks with juicy sweetcorn until they were fit to burst! The amusing photo was captured in Ontario, Canada.
Tortoise-back-ride
It takes a tortoise a long time to cover even the shortest of distances so this crafty leopard tortoise in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania has come up with the perfect solution: Grab a piggy-back-ride from a friend. And just look how happy it is with its cunning plan!
Losing Their Heads
You’d be forgiven for thinking an horrific accident had befallen these two penguins in South Georgia but the photographer actually picked the perfect moment to snap a shot of the pair preening themselves.
Perfect Perch
Talk about choosing the wrong moment to relieve yourself! This photo of a buffalo and a bird in Meru National Park, Kenya doesn’t really need any words. The buffalo is left looking rather hacked off after letting a bird perch on his head only for the cheeky chap to thank him by relieving himself all down the buffalo’s head!
Chuckling Owl
And who said owls haven’t got a sense of humour? This amusing photo was captured in Ontario, Canada and appears to show a snowy owl having a good old chuckle to itself. We’d love to know what it found so amusing?
Happy Frog
Talk about timing a photograph perfectly! This image of a frog popping out of the water in a pond in Russia can’t help but make us smile. The photographer managed to capture the exact moment the amphibian emerged from the water and appeared to have a huge grin on its face.
