Giggle Away: The Triumphant 2024 Comedy Wildlife Photography Award Winners Bring Unbridled Joy
The animal realm is brutal and rife with suffering, as creatures struggle to survive in their dog-eat-dog existence. Yet, there's a comedic side to this world, especially when viewed from an anthropomorphic perspective.
And guess what? The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have just revealed their pick of the best and highly commended photos for the year. These images span a wide range, from the armored mantis to the fluffy feline, but they all manage to bring out the funny in an otherwise unforgiving world.
The first nine photos you're about to see are the highly commended images, followed by this year's winners. The grand winner of this year's competition was Milko Marchetti's image of a red squirrel stuck in a tree. If some of these photos look familiar, it's because we've previously featured the finalists for this year's awards. But even if you've seen this round of photos, viewing them again will (1) reveal who among the finalists emerged as the competition's winner and (2) allow you to appreciate the humor in each image anew.
The frog enclosed in a bubble took top honors in the reptile category—though let me clarify, the competition chose this. We at Gizmodo are well-aware that frogs are amphibians. The photo of a fish pursuing an eagle bagged the "Fish and Other Aquatic Species" category, while the shot of a tern in a tailspin triumphed in the bird category. Other winners included a goofy frog (young photographer award), a group of wise old owls (junior photographer award), and a mantis (insect award). Yet, each photo is endearing in its own special way and deserves a close look.
These winning and highly commended images were chosen from a pool of almost 9,000 images captured in nearly 100 different countries. Nikon started the competition in 2015, and we've seen our share of incredible moments over the years. Recent winners of the competition's top prize include a lion smashing into a tree (2022) and a monkey settling onto a branch in the most uncomfortable fashion (2021). You can check out the finalists from last year here, and the shortlist of this year's photos here. Suffice to say, there's no shortage of humorous wildlife moments.
An exhibition featuring the 44 finalists of this year's competition is set to open at the Gallery@Oxo Tower Wharf in London from today—December 11—to Sunday, December 15. Submissions for the next competition window will open in March 2025—I can't wait to see what you all come up with.
In the realm of future technology, advances in photography equipment could potentially lead to even more humorous wildlife moments being captured, as seen in the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards (1). Moreover, the integration of scientific research in understanding animal behavior could provide new sources of amusement, as we continue to uncover the comedic side of the animal kingdom (2).
