Ten Thousand Entries, Forty Finalists, and One Indignant Bird

There is a particular kind of joy that arrives when the natural world, so often portrayed as majestic or fearsome, reveals itself to be something else entirely: absurd, clumsy, and unexpectedly funny. A water buffalo emerging from a lake with a crown of vegetation on her head. A caiman surfacing from the water with a clump of floating plants resembling a rockabilly pompadour. A tiny bird staring into the camera with an expression of pure, unadulterated indignation. These are the moments captured by the finalists of the 2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, and they are worth more than a laugh—they are a reminder that conservation and humor can share the same frame.

The competition, now in its eleventh year, received more than 10,000 entries from 112 countries—the highest number in its history. Forty photographs have been selected as individual finalists, alongside three entries in the under-16 category, four portfolios, and nine videos. The images capture animals in moments of chaos, curiosity, and unselfconscious comedy, from a squirrel leaping toward a young great horned owl to a young elephant disappearing in a cloud of dust. British photographer Andy Rouse's Doris with her Hat shows an Asian water buffalo lifting her head from a Sri Lankan lake, vegetation draped across her horns like an elaborate headdress. Austrian photographer Barbara Seiberl-Stark's Push Over captures a group of young lions in a dried-up Zimbabwe riverbed, one appearing to shove another to the ground.

The competition was founded in 2015 by professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam as a way of fusing wildlife photography with humor while raising awareness of conservation. "What began as a small effort to raise awareness of wildlife conservation has grown into something far bigger than we ever imagined," Sullam said. "We use humour to get people to feel empathy towards wildlife, and it's that empathy that creates behavioural change for the better". This year's competition is supporting the Born Free Foundation, an international charity that works to protect animals from exploitation and conserve threatened species and habitats. Ten percent of the competition's profits will be donated to the organization.

The finalists will be assessed by a judging panel that includes TV presenter Kate Humble, actor and comedian Hugh Dennis, comedian Stuart Goldsmith, and wildlife photographers Will Burrard-Lucas and Daisy Gilardini. The overall winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on December 8, receiving a safari in Kenya's Masai Mara and Nikon photography equipment. The finalists will be exhibited at Gallery@Oxo in London from December 9 to 13, and voting for the People's Choice Award is open until March 1, 2027.

For those who have spent the year watching news of war, economic crisis, and political division, the finalists offer something else: a caiman with an Elvis haircut, a mantis peeking over a leaf like a sunbather, and a seal grinning at a panicked seabird. The photographs are free to enter and open to professional, amateur, and novice photographers alike. The winners will be announced in December. The laughter, for now, is already here.

AI Image Disclaimer: All images in this article are AI-generated and are intended for illustrative purposes only.

Sources: The National, The Scotsman, Yahoo News Malaysia, What Digital Camera, SRF