The 2021 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards Have Just Announced Their Finalists, And Here Are 40 Of The Funniest Photos To Crack You Up

Michelle told Bored Panda that it's difficult to give advice to anyone gearing up to participate in next year's competition. "The uniqueness of Comedy Wildlife compared to other photography competitions is the comedy aspect which can be a split-second decision to push the button at the right time," she said. "We would probably say it’s a good idea to take your camera or camera phone with you whenever you are out and about, just in case that special moment arises," she suggested always being ready to capture some amazing shots.

"And you have to be patient, very, very patient. Wildlife photography involves a lot of waiting around, Comedy Wildlife photography even more!! But the competition is free and so it is always worth entering your photo or video. By getting involved with the competition, even buying a print or calendar, you are directly helping us support our conservation charity and highlight our message, which is at the heart of the Awards."

According to Michelle, how the Awards decide on what charity to support each year depends on a variety of factors. "We look at a range of factors, including sustainability, reach, location, species, long term goals. Save Wild Orangutans is an amazing initiative, set up by the Gunung Palung program helping the local population live and work in harmony with the Orangutan population and their habitat. We all share this world and have to work together to preserve it. This charity aligns with our core conservation message and we will do everything we can to shine a light on their work, through coverage of the competition." 

The Category and Overall Winners of the competition will be announced on the 22nd of October, and I can't wait to see who takes the cake (and our hearts). In the meantime, the 2021 competition finalists will be exhibited at The Photography Show in Birmingham. So if any of you Pandas are in the UK and want to hear competition co-founder Tom talk about how everything got started, go ahead and give them a visit.

The finalists include 42 images, plus the Portfolio and Video category entries. 2021's shortlist showcases the biggest mix of animals seen in the competition so far. The Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards team notes that among the entries are a laughing vine snake from India, a trio of strutting Gentoo penguins on the beaches of the Falkland Islands, and a Kangaroo performing a picture-perfect Pavarotti impersonation in Australia.

In a press release, Paul, the co-founder of the competition, said that the team has been overwhelmed with the number and quality of the entries they received this year. A whopping 7k photos were submitted to the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards for consideration from every single corner of the globe.

"It was an amazing turnout, especially given the impact of the pandemic. The huge number of images we receive every year illustrates the appetite there is to engage with conservation and reminds us that wildlife truly is incredible and hilarious and, we must do all we can to protect it," Paul said.

Members of the public are free to vote for their fave photos on the competition's website right until October 10. One lucky voter will even walk away with a brand-new iPad!

"Whittling down the list of photographs was harder than ever this year," said competition co-founder Tom. "There were so many funny pictures that had us laughing that we couldn't settle on a top 40—so we're releasing the top 42 instead! It was great to see a range of animals, from the incredibly rare to the humble pigeon." Tom added that the team can't wait to see what the public chooses as their favorite.

The photographer who took the overall best picture will win a one-week safari with Alex Walker's Serian in the Masai Mara, in Kenya, as well as a unique handmade trophy from the Art Garage in Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.

A panel of experts will judge the finalists, and it's quite an impressive turnout! The panel includes wildlife photographers Daisy Gilardini, Tom Laman, and Will Burrand-Lucas, travel editor Neil Stevenson, TV presenter Kate Humble, actor and comedian Hugh Dennis, co-founder of The Born Free Foundation Will Travers OBE, Managing Director of Serif, developer of award sponsor Affinity Photo Ashley Hewson, ThinkTank's Simon Pollock, image expert Celina Dunlop, Amazing Internet's Andrew Skirrow, and Bella Lack, the "formidable ambassador for conservation."