The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards finalists have been announced
Feast your eyes on some of the most amusing animal photos ever, as we unveil the winner of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2020. The competition is designed to raise awareness of the need for conservation, and it's run in association with Born Free.
Competing against 7,000 entries, this year's overall winner was Mark Fitzpatrick for this rebellious turtle picture. "I was swimming with this turtle at Lady Elliot Island on the Great Barrier Reef when he flipped me the bird!" said Fitzpatrick. His picture also won the 'Creatures under the water' award category.
"It's been amazing to see the reaction to my photo of Terry the Turtle flipping the bird, with Terry giving people a laugh in what has been a difficult year for many, as well as helping spread an important conservation message," said Fitzpatrick. "Hopefully, Terry the Turtle can encourage more people to take a moment and think about how much our incredible wildlife depend on us and what we can do to help them. Flippers crossed that this award puts Terry in a better mood the next time I see him at Lady Elliot Island!”
We have also included category winners, highly commended and the finalists in this gallery, so go on and have a chortle at these amazing photos.
Hide and seek
SPECTRUM PHOTO CREATURES IN THE AIR AWARD
This azure damselfly, photographed by Tim Hearn in Devon, U.K., doesn't quite understand hide and seek.
"As this Azure damselfly slowly woke up, he became aware of my presence," said Hern. "I was lined up to take a profile picture of his wings and body, but quite sensibly the damsel reacted to the human with the camera by putting the Marsh grass stem between me and it. I took the shot anyway. It was only later that I realised how characterful it was. And how much the damselfly looks like one of the muppets."
Smiley
HIGHLY COMMENDED
"Among a group of parrot fish I saw this one, with a crooked mouth, looking like it was smiling," said Thiemenn. "I don't know if it was caused by a fishing hook, or just something hard that it tried to bite. I concentrated on it, and it took me several minutes until I got this frontal shot... and yes, it made my day!"
Tough negotiations
HIGHLY COMMENDED
"I was came across a foxes den while I was traveling, looking for some nature, in the nearby fields. I spent an entire magical morning with four cute fox cubs. At some point I noticed that one of the cubs start sniffing around, and a seconds after, he pulled this shrew (which he probably hid there earlier) out of the sand and started playing with it," said Fishaimer. "After a while, the fox cub stood on the stone and threw the shrew in the air... the shrew landed in such a way that it seemed as if they were having a conversation, and he is asking the fox, 'Please don't kill me'. [It] actually reminded me of a Scene from 'The Gruffalo' story."
Seriously, would you share some?
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Krisztina Scheeff photographed this greedy Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Scotland.
"Atlantic Puffins are amazing flyers and their fishing talents are - well - as you see some do better than others!" said Scheeff. "I just love the second Puffin's look - can I just have one please?"
Social distance, please!
HIGHLY COMMENDED
"This photo from January 2020 is the beginning of a scene which lasted approximately one minute and in which each of the birds used a foot to clean the partner's beak," said Sochman. "While the whole scene was very informative, this first photo with the male already holding his foot high in the air was just asking to be taken out of the context..."
Fun for all ages
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Thomas Vijayan captured these gray langurs (Semnopithecus) playing around in Kabini, India.
"Shooting the most common is the most challenging thing. Langurs are very common but waiting for a right movement is very challenging and needs lots of patience. Photography is not about quantity I consider it more of a quality and a story telling frame which can put a smile in someone’s heart," said Vijayan. "In 2014 I had made 15 trips to India in search of a perfect frame out of these trips. In one of the trips I could only get this frame and I am more than happy with this picture - a playful monkey with its family is a special frame for me."
The race
HIGHLY COMMENDED
"My friends and I walked in the center of the small town of Hampi in India. There was a bicycle parking nearby. Suddenly a flock of langurs jumped on these bicycles and began to frolic. We were afraid to frighten them away, [so] I started taking pictures from afar, but then we came very close to them and the langurs continued to play with [the] bicycles," said Samuchenko.
