The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025 has revealed its collection of finalist photographs, showcasing nature's most amusing and endearing moments captured by photographers from around the world. This year's competition attracted nearly 10,000 submissions from 108 countries, with 41 photographs selected as finalists featuring everything from bewildered gannets and playful frogs to dramatic lions caught in thunderstorms.
The annual competition, founded in 2015 by photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, celebrates wildlife photography with a humorous twist while maintaining a serious conservation message. Among the standout images are a pair of lions in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park caught shaking themselves off in unison after being drenched by a violent storm, captured by Massimo Felici. Another memorable shot by Alison Tuck shows a Northern gannet appearing completely lost on the wind-battered cliffs of Bempton in Yorkshire, England.
The finalist collection spans diverse wildlife encounters across multiple continents. Andrew Mortimer captured a tiny toad climbing onto its companion's back to get a better view of the Australian horizon, while Andrey Giljov photographed a ring-tailed lemur in Madagascar appearing to meditate at dawn with arms raised skyward. Other notable entries include a Steller's sea eagle looking grumpy on the ice in Hokkaido by Annette Kirby, and a seagull boldly challenging a golden eagle above an Icelandic fjord, with the smaller bird surprisingly emerging victorious, photographed by Antoine Rezer.
The competition features an impressive array of animal behaviors and expressions from around the globe. Highlights include a porcupine fish in Mexican waters appearing to smile with its mouth wide open, captured by Bingqian Gao; a lion cub in the Serengeti practicing its roar under its exasperated mother's watchful eye, photographed by Bret Saalwaechter; and a Canadian squirrel discovering the joys of static electricity, shot by Christy Grinton. In the Pantanal, David Fetters captured a tropical bird sporting a rock star-worthy crest, while David Rice immortalized two Japanese cranes in the middle of a morning dispute.
Several images showcase intimate wildlife moments with comedic timing. Diana Rebman captured a male gibbon hanging from a branch, seemingly savoring the Vietnamese dolce vita, while Erkko Badermann photographed a red-throated loon preparing for a perfect water landing on a Finnish lake. Geoff Martin's image shows a hornbill rushing through the air above KwaZulu-Natal, and Grayson Bell captured two frogs playing in a Maine pond. Henry Szwinto's photograph features a Sri Lankan elephant appearing to play hide-and-seek, while Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod captured a leopard in Yala, Sri Lanka, whispering into a female's ear.
Underwater and aerial photography contributed equally memorable entries to the competition. Jenny Stock photographed a small blenny fish underwater revealing a strange smile, while Jessica Emmett captured two monitor lizards embracing in Singapore. John Doe's entry features what might be Scotland's most relaxed duck, and Kalin Botev surprised a troop of baboons playing hide-and-seek in a tree during his honeymoon at Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. Lars Beygang's dawn photograph in Bavaria shows a mallard perched on a fence that appears to be smoking a cigarette.
The collection includes dramatic wildlife encounters and portrait-style shots with comedic elements. Laurent Nilles captured a young baboon spotting an approaching elephant in Zambia's Lower Zambezi Park, frozen in dramatic hesitation between fleeing or confronting. Liliana Luca's image from Nosy Komba, Madagascar, shows a crowned sifaka appearing to recreate an old advertisement by raising its hand, licking it, and striking a pose. Magnus Berggren photographed a black woodpecker above Lulea, Sweden, flying with folded wings like an arrow, while Mark Meth Cohn captured a young gorilla in Rwanda's Virunga Mountains appearing ready to give a high-five to a companion.
Other standout finalists include Meline Ellwanger's photograph of three lions yawning in perfect unison in the Masai Mara, described as a moment of pure chance. Michael Stavrakakis captured Sandra, the eldest rehabilitated orangutan at Borneo's Tanjung Puting National Park, positioning herself in front of the camera like a star returning to the stage. Michael Lane's image shows two Steller's eagles fighting over a fish on pack ice near Rausu, Japan, while Miles Astray's Caribbean beach photograph features a flamingo that appears headless.
The remaining finalists showcase nature's playful side across various environments. Paula Rustemeier photographed young foxes playing at dusk in a Dutch nature reserve, with one having taken a tumble. Peter Reinold's Everglades image shows a giant lubber grasshopper basking in the sun on a boardwalk, posing shamelessly for photographs. Ralph Robinson captured a group of king penguins in the Falkland Islands appearing to lead a flock, while Stefan Cruysberghs photographed a red squirrel in Belgium pretending to be a flying squirrel.
The competition concludes with several particularly charming entries. Valtteri Mulkahainen captured a one-year-old bear cub in northern Finland looking at the camera and appearing to smile. Warren Price photographed two guillemots fighting over a piece of rock on a Norwegian cliff, while Yann Chauvette's image from Nepal shows an Indian rhinoceros surfacing with aquatic plants on its head after an underwater feast, creating an inadvertently comical crown effect.
According to Stefan Maier, Marketing Director of Nikon Europe, these images combine wit and wonder while reminding viewers why the wild world deserves protection. The competition maintains its conservation focus by donating 10% of profits to the Whitley Fund for Nature, which supports conservation projects in 80 countries worldwide. The initiative demonstrates how humor can be an effective tool for wildlife conservation, engaging audiences through laughter while delivering serious environmental messages.
The grand winner will be announced on December 9 in London, followed by a free exhibition at the Oxo Gallery from December 10 to 14. The competition continues to grow in international reach and impact, proving that wildlife photography can simultaneously entertain and educate while promoting crucial conservation efforts. The 2025 finalists represent a decade of celebrating animal humor through photography, with all images captured without artificial enhancement or digital manipulation, staying true to authentic wildlife behavior and natural comedic moments.
