Incoming LOLZ: The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards will put a smile on your face

The results are in and the winner of this year’s funniest wildlife photo goes to Milko Marchetti for his very chuckle-worthy shot of a red squirrel with its head firmly embedded in a tree. Marchetti’s shot was selected as the overall winner and winner of the Mammal category in the 2024 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards – a competition that focuses on the lighter side of animal photography.

The winning shot was selected from a pool of 9,000 images – the highest number of entries on record in the award’s ten-year history. The top 45 or so images were scrutinised (and laughed over) by a group of expert judges, with Marchetti’s photo sneaking through as the ultimate winner in a hotly contested competition.

“I have taken many, many photographs of squirrels, in many situations over the years in Italy,” Marchetti explained, “but this one struck me as really funny and such a strange position, because it is that exact moment when the squirrel is detaching its back legs from the trunk to enter its hide. Whenever I show this image at the nature seminars at my local photography club, the audience always explode with raucous laughter, so I had to enter it!”

Stefan Maier, Senior General Manager of Marketing at Nikon Europe, had this to say about the winning shot: “We are thrilled to celebrate Milko Marchetti’s outstanding achievement in the Nikon Comedy Photography Awards 2024. His image, ‘Stuck Squirrel,’ brilliantly captures the playful and unpredictable moments that make nature so enchanting.”

Founded by professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, the competition aims to inspire through comedy by showcasing the funnier side of the natural world and raising awareness about conservation. “This year’s competition received a record number of entries, each one a testament to the power of photography in evoking emotion,” says Maier. “We look forward to continuing to inspire the next generation of wildlife photographers through these wonderful awards.”

Here’s a taste of some of the other winners and Highly Commended images:

Whiskered tern crash on landing Whiskered tern hits a rock when try to land. © Damyan Petkov / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Unexpected role swapEvery annoyed and overtired fish needs to de-stress by hunting for a bald eagle.
© Przemyslaw Jakubczyk / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards — Unexpected role swap Every annoyed and overtired fish needs to de-stress by hunting for a bald eagle. © Przemyslaw Jakubczyk / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Smooching owletsOur parents always find a way to embarrass us, I guess that's also true in the case of spotted owlets. It was truly a funny sight to see two owlets trying to get some privacy as their little offspring stood next to them.
© Sarthak Ranganadhan / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards — Smooching owlets Our parents always find a way to embarrass us, I guess that’s also true in the case of spotted owlets. It was truly a funny sight to see two owlets trying to get some privacy as their little offspring stood next to them. © Sarthak Ranganadhan / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Shake ruffle rattle and rollA white-tailed eagle ruffling its feathers. The picture was taken with the Nikon Z9's autocapture feature. The camera was placed on top of the sea ice on top of a bag of nuts at the level of the ice. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this picture. There were more than ten funny poses and expressions in the photo series.
© Tapani Linnanmäki / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards — Shake ruffle rattle and roll A white-tailed eagle ruffling its feathers. The picture was taken with the Nikon Z9’s autocapture feature. The camera was placed on top of the sea ice on top of a bag of nuts at the level of the ice. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this picture. There were more than ten funny poses and expressions in the photo series. © Tapani Linnanmäki / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Mantis FlamencaOn my way back from my photo walk in a swamp near my town (Pantano el Sitjar), I suddenly stopped my car on the road when I saw someone ordering me to stop. This was when I saw my friend the Flemish Mantis for the first time. You can imagine the faces of the other cars passing by, seeing a car with the indicators on and the door open, stopped on the roadside and a madman lying on the ground with his camera in his hand.
© Jose Miguel Gallego Molina / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards — Mantis Flamenca On my way back from my photo walk in a swamp near my town (Pantano el Sitjar), I suddenly stopped my car on the road when I saw someone ordering me to stop. This was when I saw my friend the Flemish Mantis for the first time. You can imagine the faces of the other cars passing by, seeing a car with the indicators on and the door open, stopped on the roadside and a madman lying on the ground with his camera in his hand. © Jose Miguel Gallego Molina / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Frog in a balloonDuring a photoshoot at the pond I discovered this frog with its head in a bubble. This resembles a tree bell.
© Eberhard Ehmke / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards — Frog in a balloon During a photoshoot at the pond I discovered this frog with its head in a bubble. This resembles a tree bell. © Eberhard Ehmke / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Awkward smiley frog “Ultimately, I wish my work could bring more conservation awareness to these amazing reptiles and amphibians, and that’s been my motivation to keep doing what I’m doing. This award is by far my biggest photography achievement yet. I never thought an accomplishment on this scale would be achievable but I’m grateful that this photograph has been recognised by the judges and many others. This award would be a reminder to me that I should keep my passion up because someone out there appreciates my work and hopefully it can encourage people to show some love to not just the fluffy animals but also the slimy and scaly friends.” © Kingston Tam / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

This article was first published by Earth Touch Network on 18 December 2024. Lead Image: When the squirrel entered, he removed his feet from the trunk for a moment, and for that moment it seemed as if he was blocked at the entrance to the burrow. © Milko Marchetti / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards.

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