Here Are the Finalists for the Most Comedic Wildlife Photos of the Year

Home Animals Here Are the Finalists for the Most Comedic Wildlife Photos of the Year

Animals

By Monica Gray - November 25, 2022

We’re so accustomed to seeing wildlife photos that involve zebras peacefully grazing in a field, or lion’s attacking their prey. But, just like humans, animals in the wild often have their humorous moments. Adventurers lucky enough to follow these wild animals around and capture these hilarious moments shared their wildlife photos with us, and we couldn’t be happier. There’s a reason dogs are a man’s best friend, but that could apply to these animals, too.

Here Are the Finalists for the Most Comedic Wildlife Photos of the Year — Shutterstock

We never thought we’d see animals in this light we didn’t know it was possible. The internet world has a newfound appreciation for animals unlike one we’ve ever seen before. Some of these photographs are misleading. They captured animals at the perfect, most awkward moment that makes it look completely unreal. We see swinging kangaroos, fish fighting against bears, bears pondering with a feather, and bulls with angel wings. These photos were taken at an ideal moment in time. Even then, it makes us wonder what’s going on in the animal world that we’re not aware of. These animals are certainly way smarter than we give them credit for, and for that, we’re grateful for these wildlife photos.

Meerkat Strangulation

If you’ve ever watched a horror movie or a true crime show, then you might’ve seen someone strangle another person. While it’s a horrendous act to witness, we bet you’ve never seen a meerkat strangle another meerkat. This photo was captioned, “I’m Gonna Strangle You!” and was taken by Emmanuel Do Linh San. The backstory to the photo was that he “was following a group of meerkats on foot in the Kalahari Trails Game Reserve, in South Africa. Most individuals, including adults, were in a playful mood. In the photo that I have selected, there is no aggression between individuals, but rather an interaction that reminds us of humans when one of your friends jokes about you and you pretend to strangle them and, in response, they open their mouth like a simpleton.” This is one of the funniest wildlife photos we’ve ever seen. These meerkats look like they’re posing for our entertainment (via Bored Panda).

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Motherly Hardships

We all know how hard it is to be a mom, especially to a youngster. It seems like mothers never sleep or have any time to do anything except care for their children. While we know this is true about humans, it’s also true for animals. This photo is titled, “Mum Life” and was taken by Sophie Hart. We’re looking at “a baby long-tailed macaque” as it “clings on to its weary mother.” This poor baby wants love and attention from its overly tired, overly worked mother. Seeing this photo helps us relate to animals in another way we probably never thought possible. Still, it’s one of the cutest wildlife photos we’ve ever seen. Too bad there’s not much we can do to help this tired mother (via Bored Panda).

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Extremely Tight Fit

Somehow, this tiny owl managed to squeeze itself into the smallest space possible, in between its mother and the tree. Seriously, how did it even manage to fit in there? He looks curious about the outside world, even though his mom looks disapproving. This photo is captioned, “Tight Fit!” and was snapped by Mark Schockenl. According to Schockenl, he “was going to see and photograph this eastern screech owl nest in a local park in Florida. One morning, a few days before the two owlets fledged, one owlet tried to squeeze into the nest hole with Mom, maybe to see the outside world for the first time. It was hilarious and I was glad I was there that morning to photograph it. The moment lasted only a few seconds as Mom didn’t seem very happy with the arrangement.” Mom looks annoyed! She probably wants him to stop messing around so they can get on with their flight. These wildlife photos capture such vulnerable, beautiful moments in time (via Bored Panda).

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Looks Painful

Cats are known for their stellar reflexes and ability to leap from high surfaces. This cub may be the only feline in history to smack its head into a tree trunk. Thanks to the photographer, we’re able to see this painfully hilarious moment in time. It’s one of those wildlife photos we’re glad didn’t happen to us. The photo is titled, “Not So Cat-Like Reflexes” and was taken by Jennifer Hadley. She captioned the photo, “this 3-month-old cub and his sibling were in a tree. The other lionesses were in other trees and on the ground. He wanted to get down and walked all over the branches looking for the right spot and finally just went for it. It was probably his first time in a tree and his descent didn’t go so well. He was just fine though after landing on the ground. He got up and ran off with some other cubs.” His descent certainly didn’t go well. At least he wasn’t injured! (via Bored Panda)

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The Shocked Monkey

Imagine seeing this monkey on your morning stroll through the wild? No thanks! This photo is captioned, “Stop And Stare” by Andy Evans. It’s one of those wildlife photos we’re happy we’re only seeing through our computer screen, and not in real life. The photo is captioned, “after hearing Borneo’s borders would reopen again in April 2022 I couldn’t wait to visit and photograph some of the weird and wonderful wildlife on the island. After 2 years with no tourists, it seemed like the wildlife was just as shocked to see me as I was to see them. This young proboscis monkey watched in amazement as I cruised by on the Kinabatangan river.” It might’ve even been his first time seeing a human, considering tourism slowed to a standstill around the entire world. This monkey seems both shocked and impressed (via Bored Panda).

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Conveniently Placed Turtles

This little guy found the perfect bridge to get across the pond. For some reason, all these turtles are lined up in a straight line that acts as a bridge for this duck. He seems excited about his discovery. There’s certainly a pep in his step as he skips across the turtle’s back. The photo is captioned, “Excuse Me… Pardon Me!” by Ryan Sims. The artist said, “a duckling walking/waddling across a turtle-covered log at the Juanita wetlands, the duckling fell off after a few turtle crossings, it was cute.” We wish the artist also captured the duckling in the water after falling off, what a sight to see! These wildlife photos are getting cuter and cuter (via Bored Panda).

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Leaping Owl

Sometimes we run, sometimes we walk, and sometimes we crawl. Animals are no different. Sometimes, animals want to jump instead of flying, just like this owl. The artist captured this animal at the exact moment it leaped from one trunk to another. The photo was captioned, “I Jump Instead Of Flying” and was taken by Tímea Ambrus. They said, “the screech-owl chose to jump instead of flying. He was a bit lazy.” We can relate to his laziness. These wildlife photos help us relate to animals on an entirely new level. They seem more like humans than we thought possible (via Bored Panda).

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Not What You Think

This photo makes us want to shout, “look behind you!” Luckily, this photo is misleading and doesn’t capture a giant hippo about to eat an unsuspecting heron. Wildlife photos can surprise us sometimes. This photo is titled, “Misleading African Viewpoints 2” and was taken by Jean Jacques Alcalay. He captioned the photo, “hippo yawning next to a heron standing on the back of another hippo.” The hippo and the heron and friends. They probably paired up to fool us, humans, into believing something bad was about to happen. They’re the ones laughing now (via Bored Panda).

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Flying Squirrel

This squirrel looks like he wants to escape the rainstorm, and fast. He’s not letting anything get in the way of him leaping through the air and taking cover somewhere dry. We can’t blame him, though, since we wouldn’t want to get wet either. This photograph is titled “Jumping Jack” and was taken by Alex Pansier. It perfectly captures the moment “a red squirrel jumps during a rainstorm, so you can see the drops flying around.” Wildlife photos bring life and personality to these animals, and we’re entirely grateful. This photograph makes this squirrel look like a superhero who’s about to battle its biggest enemies. Take cover while you still can (via Bored Panda).

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The Pondering Bear

By the looks of this bear, with his huge feather, it seems like he’s pondering the meaning of life. He must be having an existential crisis and is about to figure out the meaning of life. The photo is titled, “What Shall I Write Next” and was captured by Torie Hilley. The artist said, “most bear cubs do cub-like things. Like, follow mom around, nurse, and be generally cute. But this cub took it to another level of cuteness. She found an eagle feather and started to play with it for a good 10 minutes! As she danced and rolled with the feather, she held it in her mouth for a moment – as if she was thinking of what to write next! Cuteness overload!” These wildlife photos show animals at the height of their cuteness. It makes us wonder what these animals do when no one is around to capture them on camera (via Bored Panda).

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Where’s Your Head?

This is another one of those misleading wildlife photos. Not only is the penguin headless, but his friend looks guilty. Perhaps he took his head. Luckily, that’s not the case, his head is likely bent over backward and obscured from view. The photo is titled “Keep Calm And Keep Your Head” and was taken by Martin Grace. The photograph is captioned, “Two King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) at Volunteer Point in the Falklands. The right-hand bird may have an inscrutable expression but it must be wondering where its mate’s head has gone. Perhaps it is a Rudyard Kipling scholar: ‘If you can keep your head when all about you. Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.” We’re left wondering too, but at least his unbothered mate is there to look after him (via Bored Panda).

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Angelic Bull

This angelic bull is also Pegasus. Because of the way the photo was taken, it looks like this bull has grown wings and is about to take flight. The photograph is titled “Pegasus, The Flying Horse” by Jagdeep Rajput. Unfortunately, the story is not so angelic, the Bluebell is scaring off and attacking the bull. It’s captioned, “actually this is Indian Saras Crane attacking a Bluebell from behind, the bull happened to venture close to Saras’s nest, wherein, it had laid a single egg. The Saras Crane, which is the tallest flying bird in the world, opened its huge wings and attacked the bull from behind, driving the bull away from the nest.” It looks like this bull couldn’t escape fast enough. Let’s hope everything turned out alright (via Bored Panda).

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Talk To The Fin

This penguin has some attitude. He’s angry at the penguin and explicitly gave him the cold shoulder. Because the photographer captures this at the perfect moment, we’re able to see one of the most hilarious wildlife photos on this list. The photo is titled “Talk To The Fin!” by Jennifer Hadley. It’s captioned, “this was shot on the Falkland Islands. These two gentoo penguins were hanging out on the beach when one shook himself off and gave his mate the snub.” This penguin did something to anger his friend and now they’re fighting. Hopefully, the fight was petty and they ended up sorting everything out (via Bored Panda).

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Smell The Roses

Alright, these aren’t roses, but they’re close enough! This bear looks content smelling the flowers. The photograph is titled “Romantic” by Valtteri Mulkahainen, and it couldn’t be more accurate. This bear is having the time of its life, nestled amongst the field of flowers in pure bliss. He even has his eyes closed. We wonder what he’s dreaming about. He looks so happy, and this is one of those wildlife photos that makes you appreciate Mother Nature (via Bored Panda).

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Pillow Friend

These elephant seals look like they wanted to take a quick nap. Instead of lying on the floor, one of them decided to fall asleep on top of their other friend. They must’ve been completely exhausted. We can relate to these seals after a long day at work or a heavy night of drinking. These wildlife photos are relatable to human life! This photo is titled “Uncomfortable Pillow” by Andrew Peacock. It’s captioned “these elephant seal weaners were practicing their jousting skills for many minutes before they collapsed in exhaustion. One looks to be resting far more comfortably than the other!” There’s nothing better than a nice nap after a long day of playing (via Bored Panda).

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Flirtatious Wink

This fox isn’t messing around with their flirting skills. They’re looking right at the photographer and winking as if giving a subtle, flirtatious clue. We wonder what the fox’s intentions are. The photo is titled “The Wink” by Kevin Lohman. It’s captioned, “an American Red Fox casually walked up to the edge of the woods and sat down, then turned around and gave a wink. Moments later, this sly fox disappeared into the trees.” Let’s hope this photographer followed the sly fox into the trees, otherwise, we’ll never know what its secret message was. Maybe it knows about a hidden treasure deep in the forest and was trying to help the photographer discover it. Either way, this is one of the most mystical wildlife photos we’ve ever seen (via Bored Panda).

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Three-Headed Animal

This is one of those wildlife photos that make us gasp. Not only does it look like a mystical creature from a fairytale land, but it’s slightly terrifying. The photo is titled “Three Headed (“Kerberos”)” by Paolo Mignosa. It’s captioned, “the three cubs seem to form a ‘Kerberos’, the three-headed dog of Greek mythology.” This isn’t something we’d want to run into in the wild, and we’re totally fine looking at it from our computer screen. Imagine if this animal was real. The world would be a different place (via Bored Panda).

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Creepy Smile

Either this moose is smiling from joy, or giving the photographer a creepy smile. Either way, this isn’t a moose we’d want to mess with. The title is “Shark Moose,” and was captured by Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven. If we were this photographer, we’re not sure we would’ve stayed long enough to even capture that photo. It’s creepy and makes us want to run the other way. The photograph is captioned, “is this bull moose smiling … or getting ready to attack!?” Let’s hope it’s not the latter, otherwise, the photographer would be in trouble (via Bored Panda).

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Monkey Massage

This monkey massage looks completely relaxing, and we can all agree that this monkey needs to open up his massage parlor because he would easily have tons of customers. The other monkey looks blissed out, with no problems and nothing to worry about. The photo is titled “Monkey Wellness Centre” by Federica Vinci. The caption reads, “walking near a Cambodian temple where groups of wild monkeys lived, I came across this scene: a wild monkey in total relax, while its friend was taking care of it.” Honestly, more people need friends as this guy has. There’s nothing wrong with a little relaxation and downtime in between monkeying around (via Bored Panda).

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Tongue-Tied Squirrel

This cute squirrel has a total lisp. The photographers encountered him when they climbed a mountain. They said, “when noticed our approaching, instead of escaping right away, he just kept standing on the edge of the cliff and overlooked into the distance, then turned around to stare at us as if we had interrupted his meditation. We left him with some biscuits for the inconvenience and I took a photo of him telling thanks, just found that he was a lisper.” At least this little guy got some biscuits out of it. He looks so tongue-tied and surprised, that he didn’t know what to say. The photo is rightfully titled, “Lisper Squirrel” by Lee Zhengxing (via Bored Panda).

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Scary Vultures

We can’t imagine coming anywhere near these guys. Their stance alone makes us want to sprint away, and fast. The photograph is titled “Maniacs” by Saverio Gatto. He said, “Lappet-faced Vultures in the display.” These wildlife photos are both hilarious and terrifying. At least these guys look like they’re posing for the photo and aren’t causing any harm. The photographer must’ve felt pretty lucky to get this close to these beautiful beings, even if that’s not something we’d want to do ourselves (via Bored Panda).

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Sick Fish

This triggerfish is either sick with a virus or hungover. We’ve all been there, and too many times at that. This photo is titled “Barf” by Paul Eijkemans, and it’s one of the most hilarious wildlife photos on this list. We feel sorry for that triggerfish and wish there was something we could do to make him feel better. He’s probably having a rough morning, considering he barfed up his food. The photograph is captioned, “this picture of a Picasso Triggerfish was taken in Marsa Shagra, Egypt. The fish just vomited the coral residues that it picked up while nibbling on the coral.” Hopefully next time, he stays away from that coral and learns a valuable lesson (via Bored Panda).

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Farewell Bear

This bear looks like he’s giving the final act a very serious performance. As if he had a huge audience, he raised his hand and was about to bow. Luckily, the photographer captured this picture at the perfect moment, which is why it’s titled “Curtain Call II” by Dave Shaffer. This is one of the cutest wildlife photos on this list. We would’ve loved to see what happened just before this picture was taken. Apparently, “this little guy had a blast playing with a stick. I also had a very good time watching him.” Shaffer is a lucky guy to see something as spectacular as this (via Bored Panda).

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Smile!

We’re seeing another triggerfish, this time a pair. Their colored brilliant blue and have meaty lips. They look like they’re inspecting the camera and probably have no idea what’s going on, although if they could talk, they’re probably saying, “say cheese!” This is why the photograph is captioned “Say Cheeeese” by Arturo Telle Thiemann. He said, “a couple of triggerfish looking into the camera, captured at the Azores. Even though they may look funny, these fish can be quite aggressive. In this case, they didn’t attempt to bite me, but the dome port of my camera housing ended up with some scratches… life is hard… at least it wasn’t me who was hurt.” His camera took a beating, but at least it wasn’t him. Sometimes, it’s worth it to take these risks for an interesting capture such as this one (via Bored Panda).

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Walk And Talk

This swan was in a fight with another swan and chased him around the frozen lake. He must’ve stormed away angrily, as humans do after a fight. This is yet another one of those wildlife photos that make us laugh at how relatable it is to humans. The photograph is titled “Funny Walk” by Bojan Bencic. It’s hilarious that animals and humans adapt their stance after a fight as if they’re trying to prove something by storming off, angrily. If only we knew what the fight was about and why these swans were arguing (via Bored Panda).

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Scurrying Owl

This owl was rushing away from something. Maybe he’s in a hurry and heading to the grocery store or post office before it closes. That’s not true, but it’s fun relating these animals in their candid wildlife photos to the ways humans live. This photograph is titled “Rushing Little Owl Fledgeling” by Shuli Greenstein. The caption reads, “I was told that I can find a lot of little owls in the Judean Lowlands in Israel. So, I went on a journey early in the morning, and really, I found a lot of little owls standing on the ground, on stones, near the nest, and tree branches. Suddenly, my eyes were caught by two fledglings that were playing with each other on the ground. One of them crossed my field of vision. I started taking pictures in sequence and this is what came out.” He looks like he’s an owl on a mission and isn’t messing around. We certainly wouldn’t want to get in the way of this little guy (via Bored Panda).

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Prideful Lion

It looks like someone tried telling this lion to smile, and because she didn’t want to listen, she did the complete opposite. This photograph is titled, “What Do You Mean Smile?! I Am Smiling!” by Alison Buttigieg. It’s a beautiful capture, though, and shows the facial expression of this lion in the wild. The caption reads, “I spent a whole morning with this lion pride. One of the lionesses made some funny facial expressions after yawning, luckily for me she looked straight into the camera for a moment and I caught this fake smile.” (via Bored Panda).

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Howdy!

This sand-covered raccoon is waving hello to his curious observers. He immediately stuck his hand up in a friendly salute to let them know he sees them and thanked them for the snack. Imagine if every animal gave us a hello like this. This photograph is titled, “Hello Everyone” by Miroslav Srbtographed. The picture is captioned, “raccoon on a Florida beach, where I fed him shrimps. Then he thanked me like that.” We imagine every animal in the world tries to say thank you, but most don’t manage to wave hello. This little guy showed us that animals are smarter than we think (via Bored Panda).

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The Fighting Fish

This fish is certainly fighting back for every fish in the world that a bear ate in the past. The photograph is appropriately titled, “Fight Back” by John Chaney. It looks like this salmon is trying to dig its way into the bear’s ear and give him a taste of what he deserves. These wildlife photos show us that animals have awareness. We need to give them more credit. These guys know how to fight back. They captioned this photograph, “this salmon decides to punch the bear in the face rather than be lunch.” It’s always better to put up a fight than give up and lose. At least if the bear ate him, he knew he died trying. It’s always more admirable to put up a fight and make sure you’re trying your hardest than to just give up without even trying. This is true in the human world, and it looks like it’s true in the animal kingdom, too. We have a lot to learn from these animals, as they seem to have the right idea about life. Through these wildlife photos, we’re getting a glimpse into a world we previously knew nothing about (via Bored Panda).

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Swinging At Sunset

There’s nothing wrong with a sunset swing! These kangaroos know how to have fun and play with each other. It’s the best way to pass the time, and it’s always a good idea to let your inner child shine. This photograph is titled, “It’s All Kicking Off!” by Michael Eastwell. This is one of the funniest wildlife photos on this list since it portrays a scene that’s not what’s happening. It’s fun to imagine the scene either way and pretend these animals are playing around with each other. They captioned this photograph, “apart from its beauty, Cape Hillsborough is renowned for its resident kangaroos and wallabies. I visited the area for three consecutive sunrises, but it was on my final morning that I captured this beautiful spectacle, two wallabies playing/fighting on the beach as the sun burst through the surrounding clouds.” This is a sight we’d love to melt into. There’s nothing better than watching incredible sunsets and skies stained with beautiful colors (via Bored Panda).

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