Witness the Silliest, Quirkiest, and Derpiest Wildlife Photo Finalists of 2024

A astonishment gathering betwixt a woodpecker and an aghast owlet. An elephant seal cheesing. A mantis raising the extortion connected a Spanish roadside. All this and much awaits you successful this year’s Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards for 2024, showcasing quality astatine its astir amusing and bewildering.

The shortlist includes 40 images of wildlife that ekes retired beingness connected land, sea, and air. (You’ll enactment that the archetypal photograph successful the acceptable includes a food successful the air, seemingly chasing aft a low-flying bald eagle.) The nationalist tin besides ballot connected their favourite photos of the finalists here, which were themselves selected from a tract astir about 9,000 images taken successful 98 antithetic countries.

Nikon launched the contention successful 2015 arsenic an accidental to anthropomorphize the carnal kingdom, seeing relatable moments from quality that provoke everything from a chuckle to a chortle. Previous winners of the apical prize person included a lion colliding with a histrion (2022) and a monkey landing connected a subdivision successful a astir uncomfortable mode (2021). You tin spot the finalists from past twelvemonth here.

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The contention besides included 3 video finalists, including clips of an ape having occupation climbing a branch, a fox rolling successful the grass, and 1 tern taking a crook riding connected (checks notes) different tern. Many terns to instrumentality a look at.

Earlier this year, the competition released a shortlist of photos nether information for this year’s prize. Those images included shots of a three-headed giraffe, immoderate too-curious birds, and polar bears seemingly telling atrocious jokes. They’re the benignant of photos you person to spot to believe, oregon astatine slightest understand.

The wide victor of the yearly awards, arsenic good arsenic the class and highly commended winners, volition beryllium announced successful London connected December 10. The categories up for information see 1 for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, insects, food “and different aquatic species,” according to an awards release. There are besides contention categories for young photographer, inferior photographer, video, and of course, the people’s prime award.

Besides offering moments of levity from the earthy world—a beauteous but merciless spot to eke retired existence—the images showcase the value of conservation. Take the representation of the accidental gathering betwixt 2 birds astatine the apical of this article. That’s an representation the ivory-billed woodpecker volition ne'er person the accidental to recreate. Wildlife is majestic, pretty, surprising, and yes, funny, but it’s up to humankind to support it that way.