Comedy Wildlife Photo Award winners revealed
A squirrel in a predicament, a preying mantis performing the Flamenco dance and a frog in a balloon have taken out the top honours in this year's Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
The judging panel selected the winners from a pool of more than 4000 entries by professional and amateur photographers during the 10th anniversary of the contest.
The judges said the competition was "fierce", with only a few points between the top five entries.
Overall and mammals category winner: 'Stuck squirrel'
Italian photographer Milko Marchetti was named the overall winner for his photo of a red squirrel stuck in a tree.
"Nature photography has been my passion, ever since I was a boy, and I've always put all my free time and energy into it," Marchetti said.
"I think that nature offers so much beauty and variety, and with a camera, the photographer has this ability, this superpower to freeze a moment and make it last forever in the form of a photograph."
Insect category winner: 'Mantis Flamenca'
Spanish photographer Jose Miguel Gallego Molina pulled over his car immediately when he saw this lively character near his hometown of Pantano el Sitjar.
"I saw someone ordering me to stop," he said.
"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, the door open, stopped on the roadside and a madman lying on the ground with his camera in his hand."
Reptile category winner: 'Frog in a balloon'
During a photo shoot at a pond at Bergwinkel in Germany, Eberhard Ehmke discovered this frog with its head in a bubble.
The image has earned him the top prize in the reptile category.
Bird category winner: 'Whiskered Tern crash on landing'
Bulgarian photographer Damyan Petkov took out the coveted bird category with this shot of a whiskered tern which knocked its head on a rock while it tried to land.
Fish and other aquatic animals category win: 'Unexpected role swap'
An unlikely scenario unfolded in front of Przemyslaw Jakubczyk.
"Every annoyed and overtired fish needs to de-stress by hunting for a bald eagle," the Polish photographer said.
Nikon junior category winner (16 years and under) - 'Smooching owlets'
Indian photographer Sarthak Ranganadhan took out this year's junior category.
"Our parents always find a way to embarrass us, I guess that's also true in the case of spotted owlets," Ranganadhan said.
"It was truly a funny sight to see two owlets trying to get some privacy as their little offspring stood next to them with a grin and shut eyes."
Nikon young photographer category winner (25 years and under) - 'Awkward smiley frog'
Another winning smile was captured by photographer Kingston Tam in Queensland.
"My goal for my images is to bring attention to our scaly or moist friends, showing that not only fluffy animals can be cute and beautiful," the Hong Kong photographer said.
"Ultimately, I wish my work could bring more conservation awareness to these amazing reptiles and amphibians.
"That's been my motivation to keep doing what I'm doing."
People's choice category winner: 'Shake, ruffle, rattle and roll'
Tapani Linnanmäki can attest to the fact that it's always handy to travel with a snack.
"In the picture, a white-tailed eagle is ruffling its feathers," the photographer said.
"The camera is 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."
Video category winner: 'Fox with the zoomies'
Kevin Lohman came across a fox in San Jose, California with a case of the zoomies.
The encounter earned the US photographer the video category award.
"A red fox on a cold morning couldn't get enough of having fun rolling around on frosty grass," Lohman said.
"I'd been watching this fox walking slowly across the grass when it suddenly got the zoomies like my dog does after its bath.
"It started rolling around on the ice-covered grass, then sliding, then shaking it off like nothing happened."
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
