Embarrassed owlets, fluffy-butted penguins, and awkward elephant seals—here are the laugh-out-loud finalists of the 2024 Comedy Wildlife Awards

"Our parents always find a way to embarrass us, I guess that's also true in the case of spotted owlets. It was truly a funny sight to see two owlets trying to get some privacy as their little offspring stood next to them with shut eyes."—Sarthak Ranganadhan

"An Adelie penguin stands over its chick as it lays flat on the rock to cool off. Due to their high level of insulation, penguin chicks can sometimes overheat and lay on the rocks with their feet out to lower their body temperature."—Zikri Teo

"It was hard to take this image because of the fast moving Ant, but with a little help of a flashlight I was able to freeze the motion."—Alex Pansier

"After a nap, the mother brown bear wanted to go for a walk, but the cubs wanted a ride."—Alexander Fine

"Blenni fish peaking out from a hole in the coral."—Alexander Fine

"After the meeting...comes love! This is everyone's daily life."—Andrea Rosado

"This image was taken in South Georgia, it really does show a male king penguin trying to make a move on a female who has already paired up with her male. The body position and wing posture make the message clear: 'Back off!'"—Andy Rouse

"I took this photo of a dancing sifaka in Madagascar; as it ran towards us, it created all sorts of funny shapes. But this one was the best. It looks to me like it is practising its bowling action, ready for an England call-up! —Andy Rouse

"One of the 'lazy' mornings we have decided to stop by the pool with hippos. My idea was to try and catch fighting hippos, yet, they all were quite peaceful. I was positioned on the bank, safe from a potential charge, and waited. Some of them raised their heads in curiosity or when other individuals were too close. Then, I got this idea to catch them with water plants decorating the head. It looked like the guy just got out of the hairdresser with a big smile on his face."—Artur Stankiewicz

"Shot in the jungles of Uganda, following a group of around 50 chimpanzees. This one was obviously contemplating an important issue, on a day of realization and reaffirmation of how close chimpanzees are to humans!"—Arvind Mohandas

"In a kayak with my camera balanced precariously on the gunnel, I stayed very still while floating by this resting sea otter. It stayed relaxed (you can tell because it is still floating on its back) and kept on grooming its fur. With its peaceful face and upturned paws, it reminded me of a guru meditating."—Charles Janson

"I visited Lake Clark National Park to photograph bears. While there, I had an opportunity to travel to Duck Island where I saw an otter floating next to the boat. Otters hold their food with their paws making it appear like they are praying."—Christine Haines

"I photographed this nutria directly from the canoe. It was busy grooming itself."—Christopher Arnold

"This doe had got up on her hind legs to grab some leaves from the tree to eat, but when she got back up on all fours, she suddenly let go of the branch and took a cold shower on the head."—Corentin Revel

"Whiskered tern head hit the rock when try to land."—Damyan Petkov

"During a photoshoot at the pond, I discovered this frog with its head in a bubble. This resembles a tree bell."—Eberhard Ehmke

"This area has always been a nesting place for burrowing owls, so I visit frequently. When I saw this image on the computer, it just looked like this little owl was singing his heart out."—Fred Amico

"These multi-ton giants fight to keep their harem of females. In the instance of the photo, the animal seems to be smiling... but the reality of the situation is that its expression of astonishment and smile is about to flee quickly, because the dominant male was on his way to a bloody fight."—Gabriel Rojo

"Razorbill attempting a very wobbly landing."— Inés Godínez

"This newborn seal seems to be laughing at a good joke."—Ingo Hamann

"A tiny raccoon is telling a secret to its mum while whispering in her ear."—Jan Piecha

"This picture was taken in 2015 during my first visit to the Farne Islands (U.K.). The islands were full of puffins, kittywakes, shags, guillemots and razorbills, and I never before and since then have taken so many photos in such a short time. I think I really 'saw' this image only later that day when I checked my haul."—Jörn Clausen

"On my way back from my photo walk in a swamp near my town (Pantano el Sitjar), I suddenly stopped my car on the road when I saw someone ordering me to stop. This was when I saw my friend the Flemish Mantis for the first time. You can imagine the faces of the other cars passing by, seeing a car with the indicators on and the door open, stopped on the roadside and a madman lying on the ground with his camera in his hand."—Jose Miguel Gallego Molina

"Ground squirrel (local name zeisel) calling to family that he's found food."—Kath Aggiss

"I asked this frog to smile for the camera, but it seemed a little shy."—Kingston Tam

"We were on safari in Kenya and happened upon this beautiful female who was looking for a mate. A group of topi were also keeping a pretty close eye her as she left messages for a potential partner on various trees. This shot makes me think that the cheetah is just about to shout out, "Ready or not, here I come!"—Leslie McLeod

"Stellers sea eagle in the drifting sea ice off Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan."—Mark Meth-Cohn

"Two Cape Fur seals."—Marti Phillips

"As we walked on the sands of the Namib Desert, a gecko suddenly appeared, emerging out of nowhere with a smile on its face. It positioned itself perfectly, posing for a portrait worthy of a National Geographic cover. It seemed to say: "Take my picture, I'm ready for my cover!"—Michela Bordoli

"When the squirrel entered, he removed his feet from the trunk for a moment, and for that moment, it seemed as if he was blocked at the entrance to the burrow."—Milko Marchetti

"Hajime! This is the term used by the referee in Judo to invite opponents to start fighting. Here, the standing bear seems to be saying this to the other two, adopting the gesture that referees use when they say this word."—Philippe Ricordel

"Every annoyed and overtired fish needs to de-stress by hunting for a bald eagle."—Przemyslaw Jakubczyk

"On the penguin highway, these rockhoppers are moving into town, and this town ain't big enough for all of them! I set up my camera a good distance from this ridge, where rockhopper penguins were returning from feeding in the southern Atlantic ocean in the Falkland Islands. The long lens pulled them into the frame without disturbing their return to nests on the hill. I love photographing penguins after they've been in the water as they are cleaner!"—Ralph Robinson

"This female red-bellied woodpecker had been investigating this screech owl nest for a couple of days; perhaps it was her nest last year? This little owlet was definitely startled and didn't seem to know what to make of this intruder. The woodpecker moved on, and the owlet fledged with its two siblings about an hour later."—Randy Herman

"Fan-throated lizards are found only in the Indian subcontinent, where they have evolved under the influence of changing climates. These lizards are colourful and belong to the category of reptiles. Female lizards do not display a fan as they do not have one. Male lizards inflate their attractive neck pouch to attract a female in hot, summer season. Here is the female lizard standing upright to escape the summer heat."—Sanjay Patil

"An image that causes optical illusion, making it difficult for the viewer to tell which zebra is in front. Shot in Kenya, I stayed focussed on these two as they started coming towards each other. I was expecting them to interact, nuzzle, or maybe fight, but they coincidentally got aligned in a way to cause this beautiful optical illusion."—Sarosh Lodhi

"I liked this image as it reminds me of the old TV commercial for Maxell audio cassette tapes called, "Blown Away Guy." On safari in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, we hung around a kopje of rocks because there were lion cubs being nursed when this action happened. I was just lucky enough to catch it. I have this image printed and hung on a wall of my home, everybody who sees it laughs at it. One of those people mentioned that I should entered it in this contest, so here it is."—"Our parents always find a way to embarrass us, I guess that's also true in the case of spotted owlets. It was truly a funny sight to see two owlets trying to get some privacy as their little offspring stood next to them with shut eyes."—Scott Frier

"It looked like he was sucking a cigar, and he looked like a mafia boss."—Takashi Kubo

"In the picture, a white-tailed eagle is ruffling its feathers. The picture was taken with the Nikon Z9's autocapture feature. The camera is placed on top of the sea ice on top of a bag of nuts at the level of the ice. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this picture. There were more than ten funny poses and expressions in the photo series."—Tapani Linnanmäki

"I saw this parrotfish with two other fishes cleaning him. The smile on his face shows that he really loves it."—Wim Bellemans