Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2022: The Funny Winning Images

The close race for the overall winner title of the funniest wildlife photo of 2022 was awarded to the above image of a lion cub losing its grip on a tree trunk and entitled ‘Not so cat-like reflexes.”

The shot by photographer Jennifer Hadley also won the Creatures of the Land category.

The Wildlife Photography Awards competition, “the funniest and most popular photography competition in the world” according to the organizers, also unveiled five additional category winners and 10 Highly Commended Entries.

This year’s winning photos were chosen by a jury of experts from more than 5,000 entries from 85 countries around the world.

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Hadley managed to capture the winning image as a three-month old lion cub was trying to descend from a tree..well, it didn’t go the cub planned.

“It was probably his first time in a tree,” Hadley said. “And he decided to just go for it. Happily, as cats do, he righted himself just in time, landed on all fours and ran off with his siblings.”

Hadley’s reward for her winning shot: a safari in the Masai Mara, Kenya, with Alex Walker’s Serian plus a unique handmade trophy from the Wonder Workshop in Tanzania.

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The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards was founded in 2015 by Paul Joynson Hicks and Tom Sullam, both professional photographers and passionate conservationists. The competition is global, online and free to enter.

“In addition to providing some lighthearted relief and joy, the competition aims to highlight the extremely important message of wildlife conservation in an engaging and positive way,” the organizers explain.

The competition champions the work of charity partner Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), a British non-profit organization that supports conservation leaders working in their home countries across the global south.

Over 29 years, it has channeled £20 million to more than 200 conservationists in 80 countries.

The hippo looks like he’s about to snack on a whole heron, while the bird seems completely oblivious. Maybe it knew that, in fact, the hippo is actually just yawning.

These two gentoo penguins were hanging out on the beach when one shook himself off and gave his mate the snub.

This owlet peeking from a pipe looked directly at the young photographer and seemed to wink before retreating inside. “It felt like he wanted to say I CU boy,” said Singh.

A couple of grey triggerfish smile magnificently for the camera. But even if they look funny, these fish can be quite aggressive. In this case, they didn’t attempt to bite the photographer but his camera housing endured some scratches.

A red squirrel jumps during a rainstorm, hence the drops flying around it.

Most individuals in this group of meerkats, including the adults, were in a playful mood. There’s no aggression between individuals in the photo but, rather, an interaction that reminds us of humans when one friend pretends to strangle another.

One morning in a local park in Florida, before the two owlets fledged one tried to squeeze into the nest hole with Mom — perhaps to see the outside world for the first time. The moment lasted only a few seconds as Mom didn’t seem very happy with the arrangement.

A duckling walking/waddling across a turtle-covered log at the Juanita wetlands. The duckling fell off after a few turtle crossings.

You can see all the winners here.