The Comedy Wildlife Awards Shortlist 2021

Fancy a laugh today? Let’s take a look at the lighter side of photography with this year’s Comedy Wildlife Awards.

This year’s final shortlist of photographs showcases the biggest mix of animals seen in the competition to date. The final 42 images, plus the Portfolio and Video category entries from around the world include a laughing vine snake from India, a trio of strutting Gentoo penguins on the beaches of the Falkland Islands and a Kangaroo performing a picture-perfect Pavarotti impersonation in Australia

The Category and Overall Winners will be announced on October 22nd with the top image winning an incredible one-week safari with Alex Walker's Serian in the Masai Mara, Kenya as well as a unique handmade trophy from the Art Garage in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Here at TSOP we’ve made a selection of some of the images from the shortlist. Enjoy these fantastic pictures and tell us what you think in the comments below.

Mr. Giggles

©Martina-Novotna

Grey seal pup appears to be giggling. I loved the expression captured. It looks so human-like. I was lying on a rocky beach for hours, as motionlessly as possible, patiently waiting for seal life to unfold around me. This seal pup came onto the shore for a bit of rest and ended up sleeping on its chosen rock for hours before the incoming tide forced it to move more inland. Occasionally, it would stretch and yawn and it was one of the yawns that led to this expression, looking as if the seal was giggling.

The Green Stylist

©Gurumoorthy K

Draw me like one of your French Bears

©Wenona Suydam

This young Kodiak Brown Bear sauntered down the riverbed and stopped across from me. She proceeded to start making herself a bear bed pulling back the sand with her gigantic claws. Once she had her bed just how she wanted it she laid down, rolled over on her back and started smiling and me! And she didn't stop smiling! I would have to say she was the most provacative bear I had ever seen!

Laughing Snake

©Aditya Kshirsagar

Vine snakes are very commonly seen snakes in the western ghats of India. When approached they show aggression by opening their mouth wide open. Nothing to scare of this beautiful harmless Vine snake. I was happy to find it and smiling and It looks like he was smiling back at me.

Leaning Post

©Andy Parkinson

A young cub decides to use his patient mother as a leaning post, the birds in the trees requiring closer inspection.

Bald Eagle

©Arthur Trevino

When this Bald Eagle missed on its attempt to grab this prairie dog, the prairie dog jumped towards the eagle and startled it long enough to escape to a nearby burrow. A real David vs Goliath story!

Time for School

©Chee Kee Teo

A smooth-coated otter "bit" its baby otter to bring it back to and fro for swimming lesson.

The Photo-Bombing Wave

©Cheryl Strahl

Polar Bear mom and cubs frolicked in the icy waters of the Arctic. They kept dipping under the water and once came up together with this amusing pose. A tender moment is shared by mom and one cub while the other photo-bombs with a wave to the onlookers. Or, it sure looked like a wave.....

See who jumps high

©ChI Han Lin

The Baboon who feels like a tenor

©Clemence Guinard

Resting with its pack, down a road in the saudi arabian mountains, this Hamadryas baboon started to yawn. But the graceful position of its paws, its fluffy cape, its eyes looking like it put some makeup. In front of the camera, this Baboon was on stage, ready to please its public and to start its tenor's solo.

Monkey riding a giraffe

©Dirk Jan Steehouwer

During a game drive we found a group of monkeys playing around with each other, jumping up and down from a bare branch.It was a joy to watch. After a while I saw a giraffe coming from the right. By the moment the giraffe did pass the branch, one of the monkeys was on his post to ride the giraffe :-)

Treehugger

©Jakub Hodan

This Proboscis monkey could be just scratching its nose on the rough bark, or it could be kissing it. Trees play a big role in the lives of monkeys. Who are we to judge...

Ouch!

©Ken Jensen

A golden silk monkey in Yunnan China - this is actually a show of aggression however in the position that the monkey is in it looks quite painful!

Peek-a-boo

©Pal Marchhart

A young bear descending from a tree looks like he/she is playing hide and seek.

Sweet lips are for kissing!

©Philipp Stahr

This picture was taken at CuraÃ§ao, Dutch Caribbean. Usually, box fishes are difficult to take pictures of, since they do not have a problem of a diver coming close, but if you show interest, they always turn the back and not the face to you. That's why I tried to swim 0.5m above the fish and showing no interest at all to him. The same time I had my camera not in front of me, but below at my chest pointing to the bottom. When the right moment had come, I turned the camera 90 degrees to the front and just point and shoot, hoping to have the fish in focus. Never expected to have its beautiful lips that close!

I got you

I spent my days in my usual "gopher place" and yet again, these funny little animals haven't belied their true nature.

Dancing Away to Glory

©Sarosh Lodhi

A young langur sways its body to give an impression that its dancing.

©Siddhant Agrawal/Comedywildlifephoto.com

Smoked Deer for Dinner

I have been following the family of a tigress called Paaro in India's Jim Corbett National Park for many years. This is her daughter who has stood on her hind limbs to be able to scratch her face with a log. But, it appears as if she is carrying the log on her shoulders.

For more information on the competition click here.

I hope you liked this blog, please leave us a comment and support us by sharing it with your friends and subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page for more.

We also have an excellent learning community on social media so please join us there as well.

Thanks for watching and remember – Learn more at The School of Photography.

The School of Photography10 September 2021Comment