Comedy Wildlife 2025: Animals that made us laugh – in pictures

These finalists frame nature’s funniest expressions and delightful surprises

Last updated: October 23, 2025 | 17:06

Devadasan K P, Chief Visual Editor

2 MIN READ

These perfectly timed moments reveal nature’s humour and heart, proving that the wild can make us smile as much as it can inspire awe. Winners are announced December 9. Above, photographer Stefan Cruysberghs captured this whimsical moment of a red squirrel mid-leap, appearing to surrender with arms outstretched in mid-air. Shot from a wooden hide in a forest once teeming with squirrels, the image blends humour and agility — a playful tribute to nature’s tiny acrobats and fleeting forest moments.

Stefan Cruysberghs

1/10

Photographer Warren Price captures a moment of raw tension among guillemots nesting on a cramped cliff ledge. With space at a premium, tempers flare easily. One bridled guillemot finds its head caught in a neighbour’s beak, its white-rimmed eyes staring directly into the lens — a striking mix of comedy, struggle, and survival in close quarters.

Warren Price

2/10

Photographer Massimo Felici captures a tender yet dramatic Serengeti moment. A pair of lions in love are caught in a sudden thunderstorm, their courtship briefly interrupted. As both shake off the rain, the male’s majestic mane steals the scene — a playful portrait of affection, dominance, and the wild’s unpredictable beauty.

Massimo Felici

3/10

Photographer Michael Lane captured this striking image of two Steller’s sea eagles — the world’s heaviest eagles — locked in a dramatic mid-air duel over a fish on an ice floe off Rausu, northern Japan. Bathed in golden sunrise light, their mirrored wing positions resembled a synchronised kung fu dance amid the frozen splendour of Hokkaido.

Michael Lane

4/10

Photographer Bingqian Gao captured this comical yet poignant portrait of a porcupinefish in the shallow waters of the Sea of Cortez. With its mouth stuck open and algae growing inside, the fish appeared perpetually shocked — earning it a Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards nomination and a gentle reminder of the fragility of marine life.

Bingqian Gao

5/10

Photographer Andrey Giljov humorously captures a pair of lemurs in what looks like a “Zen yoga class” in the wild. One lemur strikes a pose with arms raised skyward, exuding perfect enthusiasm, while the other looks on skeptically — a comic reminder that in nature, balance and attitude matter more than flexibility.

Andrey Giljov

6/10

Photographer Diana Rebman captures a lighthearted moment as a yellow-cheeked gibbon lounges effortlessly among the branches. With one arm draped and a laid-back expression, he seems to be waiting for a drink — a perfect portrait of jungle leisure and primate personality.

Diana Rebman

7/10

Photographer Geoff Martin captured a perfectly timed moment in Zimanga, South Africa, when a startled southern yellow-billed hornbill bolted just as a Harris hawk swooped in. The hornbill’s wide-eyed look of panic adds comic drama to the scene — a fleeting jungle encounter with a happy ending.

Geoff Martin

8/10

Photographer Jessica Emmett captured this seemingly tender moment between two monitor lizards in Singapore’s Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park — a “battle hug” that was actually a slow, intense fight for territory. Though appearing affectionate, the duel reflected the fierce struggle for survival in this bustling urban wildlife haven.

Jessica Emmett

9/10

Photographer Mark Meth-Cohn captured a joyful moment in Rwanda’s misty Virunga Mountains, where a young mountain gorilla playfully raised its arm mid-leap, as if giving a high five. Surrounded by calm adults, the youngster’s exuberance perfectly embodies the spirit and vitality of these remarkable primates.

Mark Meth-Cohn

10/10

Photographer Lars Beygang captured a humorous early-morning scene in Bavaria, where a mallard duck perched on a frosty fence appeared to exhale a puff of “smoke” into the cold air. Backlit by the sunrise, the bird looked every bit like it was enjoying a quick morning cigarette break.

Lars Beygang

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Devadasan K PChief Visual Editor

Devadasan K P is the Chief Visual Editor at Gulf News, bringing more than 26 years of experience in photojournalism to the role. He leads the Visual desk with precision, speed, and a strong editorial instinct. Whether he’s selecting images of royalty, chasing the biggest celebrity moments in Dubai, or covering live events himself, Devadasan is always a few steps ahead of the action. Over the years, he has covered a wide range of major assignments — including the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, feature reportage from Afghanistan, the IMF World Bank meetings, and wildlife series from Kenya. His work has been widely recognised with industry accolades, including the Minolta Photojournalist of the Year award in 2005, the Best Picture Award at the Dubai Shopping Festival in 2008, and a Silver Award from the Society for News Design in 2011. He handles the newsroom pressure with a calm attitude, a quick response time, and his signature brand of good-natured Malayali humour. There's no fuss — just someone who gets the job done very well, every single time.