The Comedy Wildlife Awards spark much-needed joy in nature

This year, more than 10,000 entries from 112 countries were judged in one of the most fun photography competitions on the calendar. And here’s a snapshot of the 40 images that made the short list across a wide range of categories, including those highlighting amphibians and insects.

The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards, founded in 2015, will announce its overall and category winners on December 8 in London.

“The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards started very gently, somewhere on the vast plains of the Serengeti,” says contest co-founder Tom Sullam. “What started as a small effort to raise awareness about wildlife conservation has grown into something much bigger than we ever imagined. The competition is now truly global, and about a decade later, we want to make it even bigger, funnier, and more far-reaching than ever. We use humor to get people to feel empathy toward wildlife, and it’s that empathy that creates behavioral change for the better.”

Here’s a snapshot of the finalists, but be sure to check out our gallery for more images to brighten your day.

“Wow, I think I just failed” – Carolyn Moore (UK)

“In the spring of this year, I went with a friend to a place that we knew had a healthy population of hares,” explains Moore. “Our plan was to see how close we could get to the hares without disturbing them using a little of what we knew about the field. It’s important to stay below the horizon when tracking hares and disguise solid shapes, like human shapes! Sure enough, there were some hares in the field and the grass was long enough to give them a bit of cover and establish a nice backdrop for photographs.”

“I didn’t have to wait long, several hares approached where I was without seeing me, which allowed me to walk away without worrying them at all,” he adds. “I think the picture shows how relaxed this little guy was. It was a pleasure to see them going about their business and seemingly totally relaxed. This is what wildlife photography is all about for me.”

“Hair check before family photo” – Subi Sridharan (UK)

“One meerkat insists on a last-minute grooming inspection while the others do their best to appear respectable,” says the Birmingham photographer.

“Fashion passes. Down coats are forever” – Tapani Linnanmäki, Finland

“For four winters I have had the privilege of photographing white-tailed eagles in the frozen sea around Kustavi on the western coast of Finland,” says Linnanmäki. “During the first winter there were always two white-tailed eagles, probably a pair. Since then, there has only been one eagle.”

“The eagle kept coming to the place all last winter, while the sea was frozen,” adds the snapper. “The water on the ice did not seem to bother the sea eagle and it approached with the same confident step as before. The eagle has not become more docile over the years. It still takes off as soon as it sees me, even if it is sitting up in a tree, some distance away. We are both very happy with the current arrangement: the eagle has a full stomach and I photograph it.”

Click through our gallery to see many more of the finalists.

Fountain: Nikon Comedy and Wildlife Awards