20 hilarious photos of animals in the wild

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have showcased some of the most hilarious and adorable animal photos over the years! Founded by professional photographers and conservationists Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam in 2015, this competition aims to bring smiles to our faces while highlighting the crucial importance of wildlife conservation.

Today, we're taking a fun look back at some of the funniest wildlife photos from the 2019 competition. Enjoy these delightful snapshots and find out how you can submit your own photos for a chance to be featured in the next competition!

You don't think about how hard it would be to be the parent of a small, curious creature with massive, sharp claws. Let's all take a moment to be grateful that even though it's very hard to have a human baby, they don't have super sharp claws. That would make things ten times worse. 

"I did not pluck a feather out your head! I did not pluck a feather out of his head. Mom! Mom! He's lying! I didn't do it!"

"Honestly, Stuart, you're just making a fool of yourself. Get it together, man."

I think if I were an otter, I too would constantly clutch my face in disbelief. "I can't possibly be this cute, can I? Cute nose, fuzzy head, tiny little eyes? That can't be! Oh, but it is! I really am this adorable! I am! I am!" 

Make sure you head to the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards website to see the rest of the finalists!

Have you seen those videos of the foxes diving headfirst into the snow to catch prey? It's hilarious and fascinating and I think this fox forgot that there was no snow. His friend's really trying to help him not hurt himself, but his buddy insists on being dumb. Oh, foxes! 

"And then Carol was like, 'You otter come over for dinner sometime!' Get it? Get it? Man, Carol's hilarious. So I went over for dinner and she had like, this whole seafood spread. Crabs, clams, mussels...the whole shebang. Anyway, I think I'm going to marry her." 

Just think about how much poise it took for this photographer to take this photo. Not only is the shark sneaking up on this poor fish, but there's a person behind that camera! Presumably, the photographer escaped unscathed, since he was able to enter this photo in the contest. 

It's clearly not just human women who have to put up with the incessant nagging conversation from dudes we have no interest in talking to. See the look on that bird's face? Staring straight out just willing him to go away? Tell me you haven't made that face. Yeah, that's what I thought. 

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" No one really knows this, but squirrels are generally huge Shakespeare fans. They saw him put up a play in Europe centuries ago and have just carried that love for his words through generations and generations of squirrels.  

I relate to this bear hard. Anyone who has had to get up and go to work after a long weekend knows this feeling. Sometimes you just don't want to deal with anything. Sometimes you just want to lie on the ground and cover your face with your hands and nap for a little while longer.

I love this photo so much. Because not only is it a picture of a penguin farting, but it's a picture of a penguin who is clearly trying to hide the fact that he's farting and play it off like he's doing absolutely nothing. He's just standing there twiddling his wings. He has no idea what that big bubble under his butt is. 

There seems to be a whole genre of "Small rodents holding flowers" photos, and I am a sucker for every single one of them. I'm pretty sure this is what comes up when you look up "cute" in the dictionary. It's just so pure.  

"Hi there! Welcome to my flower. So glad you could make it! It's a little cold and wet right now, but once the sun comes up we'll be in business. Help yourself to a dew drop. They're especially fresh this morning." 

"And then my friend Steve, the otter, told me that Carol said to him, 'You otter come over for dinner!' Get it? Get it? Because they're otters! So it's funny. Hey, where'd you go?" 

These poor monkeys were just trying to get it on. Their kids were finally out of the tree, they had some peace and quiet, and then they were so rudely interrupted by a photographer. Although mom looks like she was kinda zoning out anyway.

This little chimp is living the life! He's got it all figured out, and from the looks of him, he's still a tiny baby. He's just looking out at the jungle, thinking about all that milk he's going to drink later.

I bet that when you're a Snowy Owl and it finally snows, you are just so ecstatically happy. I mean, it's right there in your name. Look at her face! It's full of such pure joy.  

Like this little monkey, I too usually save my existential crises for bath time. There's something about the weightlessness of floating in the water that makes you question everything you know to be true about yourself and the world. 

Who's calling this snapping turtle slow? He's just "taking his time." On another note, I think turtles are probably the most prehistoric-looking creatures that still exist. If you really take the time to look at them, they're so crazy.  

Imagine playing hide and seek on a block of ice as a polar bear. On one hand, there aren't too many places to hide. On another hand, you're looking for white on white, and that's not easy.  

I don't know if you knew this, but rodents love ABBA. Here is one getting down to "Dancing Queen." Because they're so small, they really feel the music down to their bones. Raise your hand if you would watch an all-rodent adaptation of Mamma Mia! Yeah, me too.

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This article was originally published on November 26, 2019. It has since been updated.