The Much-Anticipated Comedy Wildlife Photography Contest 2022 Has Finally Announced Its Winners (16 Pics)

The US photographer Jennifer Hadley is this year's Overall Winner, but let's first get to know her before we jump in and discuss the incredible piece that won the hearts of the competition's jury.

"I live in Raleigh, NC, with my husband, two kids, four dogs, and six cats. I left my corporate career in mid-2021 to pursue wildlife photography full-time. I started seriously photographing about three years ago and have only grown to love it more and more. I photograph all wildlife, but my favorite are big cats, bears, and wolves. I’ve traveled all over the world to capture animals in their natural habitat, but Africa and Alaska are my favorite and most frequented areas," said the winner of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards in her NANPA statement.

Well, I think we're all eager to know what the story behind Jennifer's amusing winning snap for CWPA is, so here's what she had to say about it: "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.”

The universally beloved contest is known to hold 7 competitions: "The Alex Walker's Serian Creatures of the Land" category, which is dedicated to wildlife that lives on land; "The Spectrum Creatures in the Air" category that's all about flying creatures; "The ThinkTank Photo Junior" category that is made for kids with a talent; "The Amazing Internet Portfolio" category, for a collection of 4 images either connected or unconnected (although the founders say that if you opt for a connected theme, you’ll get more points!); "The Underwater" category for those who live underwater; and finally, "The Video Clip" category, where you can enter up to two vids, with each of them no longer than 60 seconds. 

Now, what's even more exciting is that Jennifer has managed to win an Affinity Photo 2 People's Choice Award title. The woman named her other work "Talk To The Fin!" and I think we can all agree that this is pretty much the cutest thing ever. 

“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,” Jennifer said about her shot.

Bored Panda contacted the press representative of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, Michelle Wood, and asked her to give us a brief description of the contest: "It's a funny wildlife photo competition that’s open to everyone and free! We like to do things a bit differently, so there is only one stipulation, as long as the image is comic and makes us laugh, you can enter and maybe even win! We support a conservation charity, Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) - and we try and do our best to champion sustainability on all levels.

We also asked Michelle about the importance of wildlife photography: "That is such a massive question. It is hugely important for the survival of the planet, let alone our [human] race, and as humans, we are doing our best to destroy it. We need to try and work out a way of living together with wildlife rather than wiping out habitats and resources that once gone, cannot be restored. It's a ticking time bomb."

Since the competition is such a big thing that happened to earn the respect of basically every netizen and every individual who knows how to manage a camera, we wondered about the judging process: "It's fairly quick and not at all complicated. The judges simply score each image out of 20 and the one with the highest score wins. We love the little comments they leave next to the images. Russell Kane, one of our judges, was hilarious with his responses," replied Michelle.

We also absolutely had to ask the spokesperson about her personal favorites: "In addition to the Overall Winner, there were a few that I absolutely loved; Michael Eastwell’s Kangaroos ‘It’s all Kicking off!’ was one, and also ‘Monkey Wellness Centre by Federica Vinci." 

BP also enquired as to whether Michelle had any advice for those wishing to participate in the competition the following year: "Just get out there and take lots of pics, most of it is luck and being in the right place at the right time. Our winner this year, Jennifer Hadley, nearly didn’t enter and her winning image was a complete fluke but that is the joy of it."

Last but not least, when we asked Michelle if she had any additional comments, she responded as follows: "We have a new book out, with images from the last two competitions, which would make a great stocking filler, and 10% of sales go to WFN, so by buying one you are directly helping out the wildlife we are appreciating in the competition."

We hope that you've enjoyed this incredible collection of witty, wholesome, and awe-inspiring winning shots from this year's Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards! The deadline for 2023 entries is the 27th of August, so charge your cameras, get out there, and don't hesitate to apply.