Funny Raccoon Waves at Florida Man

Winners of this year’s Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are in and we think they are in fact funny.

The comic possibilities of wildlife tend to fall into set categories. There are the photos of slapstick in progress – a 3-month-old lion cub falling out of a tree, for example, which happens to be this year’s overall winner. “It was probably his first time in a tree and his descent didn't go so well,” said photographer Jennifer Hadley. 

Or a hippo about to devour an oblivious heron, whole (not to worry, the hippo was just yawning, not devouring, according to photographer Jean Jacques Alcalay). 

Then there are the anthropomorphic shots, in which an animal is caught looking comically human: a friendly raccoon waving at the camera, looking for all the world like an old friend seeing another off from a train-station platform. In this case it was on a Florida beach, the moment captured by Miroslav Srb.

Or a pair of monkeys – one stretched out in total relaxation mode and the other berating it with a wagging finger in his face. Federica Vinci came across the wild monkeys living near a Cambodian temple.

Then there are the candid shots of an animal just looking ridiculous. There are many in this category, we like the triggerfish that got in photographer Arturo Telle Thiemann’s face, mugging for the camera with a toothy grin.

Check out all the pics at comedywildlifephoto.com.