Life on Earth is unforgiving, as any nature documentary will tell you. But sometimes, the constant battle to survive is interrupted by an excuse to smile, or even laugh. Enter the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards, which allows photographers from all over the world to capture moments of levity presented by Mother Nature herself.
From a three-headed giraffe to a bird taking a gander at a buffalo’s nether regions, animals as seen through a photographer’s lens are quirky, goofy, and in every silly way possible, human-like. Without further ado, consider some of the current entrants in the annual comedy photo awards.
“Holding on for a ride”
Two bear cubs clamber onto their mother’s rear for a piggy-back ride. Or is that a bear-back ride?
“Not a good idea”
A western cattle egret takes a gander (no bird pun intended) at a buffalo’s junk. We don’t know what happened after this was shot, but let’s hope for the bird’s sake it wasn’t an attempt to eat said junk.
“Three’s a crowd”
Here we see an apparently awkward chinstrap penguin left in the dust by two others (right). “When I reached the penguins, it happened suddenly, there seemed to be a slight ruckus and some disagreement of some sorts,” wrote Deena Sveinsson, the photographer, in a Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards release. “Shortly thereafter, the penguin pair briskly walked off leaving the poor little lone fella wondering why he was left.”
“Slow hands”
A three-toed sloth giving its best impression of a guitar player using a tree branch.
“Laughing outloud”
A newborn seal in Helgoland, Germany. 2009 called: It’s the spitting image of “Rolling On The Floor Laughing.”
“Three heads are better than one”
Three giraffes posed perfectly for this photographer to form a single-bodied, three-headed giant of the savanna.
“Watch out for that tree”
This male mallard duck appears in for a rude awakening. Of course, the bird is actually flying behind the tree in the foreground, not into it. But it still makes for a Daffy Duck-esque portrait of the animal.
“Pick me pick meeeeee”
This sea turtle looks as if it’s volunteering for something. Cute. It’s actually just swimming.
“Peek-a-boo!”
A white breasted waterhen peeks its head out from below its wings in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
“Did you hear the one about the…?”
Clearly, the exasperated polar bear (left) has heard his buddy’s (right) joke one too many times.