Friday, November 13, 2015

The funniest animal photos of 2015 revealed


The best entries in the inaugural Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have been named
hamster
This year's winning photograph, by Julian Rad Photo: Julian Rad
The above image of a wild hamster, cheeks filled with food, expression of quiet determination writ large across its furry brow, has been named the funniest animal photo of the year at the inaugural Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.  



The hamster, or rather Julian Rad, the Austrian who captured it, beat hundreds of rivals to the top prize, earning himself a one-week holiday in Tanzania and a Nikon D750 camera in the process.

stag
This stag took second place  Photo: William Richardson
Second and third place went to a pair of Britons: William Richardson, for his photo of an impeccably camouflaged stag in Richmond Park, and Oliver Dreike, for an image of a gorilla that swears it was just scratching its nose. Honest.

gorilla
This gorilla swiped third  Photo: Oliver Dreike


Given that the award is in its first year, the number of entries - more than 1,500 - was impressive, as has been its global reach, with those entries coming from as far afield as Iraq, Macedonia, Uruguay, Belize and Sri Lanka.

hippo
This distressed hippo was one of 10 "highly commended" entries  Photo: Marc Mol
Images of animals looking foolish clearly hold a special place in everyone’s heart - regardless of nationality.

So too was this graceful cheetah  Photo: Mohammed Alnaser
 Among the judges were Hugh Dennis, the actor and comedian best known for his role in BBC’s Outnumbered, and Kate Humble, the broadcaster and regular contributer to Telegraph Travel, as well as several respected wildlife photographers, such as Will Burrard Lucas and Tom Sullam.
squirrel
This ninja squirrel  Photo: Julian Rad
  “It was a pleasure to judge the inaugural Comedy Wildlife Awards,” said Hugh Dennis.

seal
This amused seal  Photo: Julie Hunt
He added: “The number and quality of the entries was fantastic. The finalists should be very proud of themselves, as should the animals they photographed, simply for looking so funny. Sadly there is no way of telling them.”

flapping bird
This flapping bird  Photo: Charlie Davidson

In addition to being extremely entertaining, the awards aim to raise awareness of the work of The Born Free Foundation, the conservation and animal rights charity.

owl
Photo: Megan Lorenz
And these clumsy owls

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