The moment fans of funny animal photos have been waiting for has arrived at last. The 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards declared a winner backbone this week, and it's a gem. Jennifer Hadley's photo of a derpy lion cub falling down a tree took top honors.
Despite the tree dismount failure, the 3-month-old cub was just fine. Hadley captured the comic moment in Tanzania. "It was probably his first time in a tree, and he allowed to just go for it," the photographer said. The minor big cat managed to right itself in the air and safely land on all four feet.
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is an annual competition that seeks out the funniest nature photographs as a way to eminent the lighter side of life and raise awareness of conservation exertions. The competition is partnered with the Whitley Fund for Nature, a UK conservation organization.
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards announced the finalists back in October, so I've been eagerly awaiting the verdict on the champion. You can check out some of my favorite highlights from the entire competition:
The lion cub was the overall winner, but the awards also named a series of category winners honoring photos of a winking owl and a "smiling" fish, beside others. The people's choice award also went to Hadley for her fortuitous shot of two penguins. One of the flightless birds is holding up a fin like it's telling the latest to shove off.
Photographer Jennifer Hadley's penguin shot was the state's choice winner for the 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
Jennifer Hadley/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
All the photos are favorable a look as evidence of the delight that can be untrue in nature and as a reminder of why it's so important to defensive our world and the creatures that live in it.