Air guitar-playing kangaroos and angry owls among Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards’ 2023 finalists

"I was driving past a mob of Western grey kangaroos feeding in an open field that was filled with attractive yellow flowers. I had my camera with me, so I stopped to grab a few photos. I suddenly noticed this individual adopt a humorous pose—to me it looks like he's practising strumming on his air guitar." —Jason Moore

"I took them [photos] in November 2018, on the east coast of England. In late autumn, grey seals leave the North Sea to give birth to their young." —Adrian Slazok

"A puffin does an inverted snoopy impression while watching jelly fish." —Brian Matthews

"A little owl stare as only they can." —Michael Erwin

"This young chacma baboon is sitting on it's mother back playing the fool." —Brigitte Alcalay-Marcon

"This trip to the Seychelles was my first big trip after getting scuba certified. I caught this on one of the dives." —Danielle Goonan

"It was already half past six in the evening and almost dark...I caught this very short moment when [the lion cub] did this funny sitting position in the middle of playing." —Christian Hargasser

"This picture was taken in the monkey forest in Ubud, Bali. This is a crazy place where monkeys are king! Sometimes they give a show, sometimes they climb on you to look for fleas or steal the piece of biscuit you are trying to eat." —Delphine Casimir

"A brown bear in Finland definitely did everything to make me pay attention to him and not the other bears." —Dikla Gabriely

"I caught this scene while watching birds in the Białowieża Forest. The young greenfinch was still fed by its parents. However, from time to time the birds looked like they were having an argument. My friends interpret this scene in two ways: a young naughty kid arguing with a parent, or a kid reporting to the parent that its brother did something wrong." —Jacek Stankiewicz

"Swan on the beach was very interested in me." —Jaroslaw Kolacz

"This great grey owl spent most of the afternoon posing majestically and looking, well, wise. But for a moment or two after doing some elegant stretching, he/she would slump and give a look of, 'is Monday over yet?'" —John Blumenkamp

"Taken at Westerfolds Park, a beautiful and surprisingly wild pocket of land in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It's famous for its kangaroo population. The mob was enjoying some morning sunshine when this joey decided to get silly and try his hand at boxing." —Lara Mathews

"The swamp turtle is surprised and smiles at the dragonfly resting on its nose." —Tzahi Finkelstein

"A territorial avocet wasn't too happy about this Egyptian goose arriving early to place a towel on its sunbed. Fortunately the avocet was a master in the art of kung fu." —Allen Holmes

"Took my time to watch a family of baboons at Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya. There were many funny interactions. In this photo, a mischievous baby baboon plays a game of catch me if you can with its patient mother. In this photo the baby baboon was very playful while the mother was trying to groom it. The baby baboon tried getting away several times and this picture is of the mother holding it by the ear. There were other baboons playing around. With a playful tug-of-war between motherly duty and the baby's adventurous spirit, this endearing scene captures the untamed joy of the wild." —Benard Omwaka

"An unusual configuration of giraffes at a waterhole in the Onguma Game Reserve in Namibia." —Bill Gozansky

"At the sandbar on Mo'orea in French Polynesia, ocean dwellers practice the right of way to the more dominant species." —Brandi Romano

"The mother polar bear is pushing her hesitant young cub into the water with her leg." —Brigitte Alcalay-Marcon

"While I was working deep in the Virginian woods, a family of grey foxes took up residence under the deck of the abandoned cottage next to my work housing. One day while practicing their hunting skills on bits of moss and branches, one of the kits lunged at a small chunk of wood and started rolling around with his prize. Tired after his hunt the kit lounged on his belly still holding the wood in his mouth which gave the strong resemblance of a cigar. I was very envious of the kit at this moment because who wouldn't want to just lay around all day relaxing." —Dakota Vaccaro

"These two stallions show off their athletic abilities while fighting each other. No horses were hurt doing the Tango." —

"Three king penguins come out of the water holding hands." —Dario Podesta

"I photographed this painted wolf at Lion Sands Game Reserve, a protected reserve with open borders next to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. It is wearing a tracker because, sadly, this species is endangered and is therefore being closely monitored by scientists. There may only be 1,400 left in the wild, and 300 left in this part of Africa with one of the main reasons for this being persecution from humans. We need to learn to love our beaming neighbours!" —Henry Keepin

"A grouse coming to me in a very cold winter." —Jacques Poulard

"I took this photo during a beautiful sunrise. The dragonfly was sitting on a horsetail surrounded by dew, and cleaning itself." —Jakub Wozny

"A large group of Gentoo penguins were returning from sea, when suddenly a lone chinstrap appeared among them. The gestures in this confrontation are so recognizable, it was easy to surmise their conversation going like this: 'Are you sure my family didn't go this way?' 'No, I told you they went that way!'" —Jodi Frediani

"Even beavers floss before and after every meal!" —Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven

"During a heavy downpour I happened to look out the window to watch the rain. I spotted this lovely pigeon resting, waiting for a break in the shower. I grabbed the camera to capture some shots and as I did, it started stretching its neck and opening its mouth, like it was trying to catch the rain drops. It was really sweet to watch and I love how this image looks like it is mid-chorus and I like to imagine it had Singin' in the Rain running through its mind (which happens to be one of my favourite movies)." —Kate Stevenson

"Relax, lay back, and enjoy the warm sun... This seal is scratching its face and it is seen lying on the side while his head is supported by his flipper. This image makes the seal like the reclining Buddha statue." —Kawing Chiu

"This polar bear cub found this driftwood pretty amusing and was playing with it when it suddenly stopped and stood up, using it almost like a performer does." —Khurram Khan

"Two great horned owlets interacting with one another in west-central Florida. Mama owl had briefly left the palm tree nest to get some rest from these hyperactive, soon-to-be fledglings. They were flapping their wings and showing affection for each other. However, in this image, while one of them was extending a wing, it just looked like it was scolding its sibling, hence the caption." —Mark Schocken

"Sulawesi macaque reading news." —Matti Rauvala

"An arabesque otter." —Otter Kwek

"This leopard was being bothered by three young cheetahs, and was in a particularly bad mood, as the pose indicates." —Paul Goldstein

"I saw a macaque come out of the jungle and started itching its armpit and keeping its hand straight. At the same time, a deer also appeared behind the macaque." —Pratick Mondal

"The lemur can't stifle its emotions." —Sergey Savvi

"At Katmai National Park in Alaska, grizzly bears are in abundance, making it a photographers' paradise. However, the challenge here is clicking a unique frame. This image is full of expressions and proper eye contact by both the bears. To get this image I laid down flat on the water and stayed there for a long [time] waiting for the right moment to click." —Thomas Vijayan

"This snowy owl landed outside my house as I was watching a movie. I opened the window and popped a lens out and made this image. I always liked the silly face it made, so getting it with a straight on look was a bonus." —Vince Maiden

"An unusual and almost miserable end of a perfect moment." —Vittorio Ricci

"A white-winged dove appears to fly head-on into a Cholla cactus skeleton." —Wendy Kaveney

"With one having returned to the nest, the Northern gannets had greeted each other with normal beak rubbing. Whilst firing off a load of shots to capture that encounter, they stopped and looked over, and at that moment this image was captured forever. How proud do they look with their chick between them!" —Zoe Ashdown

"This charming collection of photographs captures a quartet of mischievous ground squirrels, each engaging in their own hilarious antics as they attempt to nibble on a colourful assortment of flowers. From the surprised expressions of the caught-in-the-act culprits to the determined munchers and the territorial nibblers, these candid moments offer a delightful glimpse into the playful and sometimes competitive world of these furry floral aficionados." —Alex Pansier