News Animals Winking, Waving, Tumbling Animals Win Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards No animals (or photographers) were injured in the process. By Mary Jo DiLonardo Mary Jo DiLonardo Senior Writer University of Cincinnati Mary Jo DiLonardo has worked in print, online, and broadcast journalism for 25 years and covers nature, health, science, and animals. Learn about our editorial process Published December 9, 2022 11:00AM EST Fact checked by Haley Mast Fact checked by Haley Mast Harvard University Extension School Haley Mast is a freelance writer, fact-checker, and small organic farmer in the Columbia River Gorge. She enjoys gardening, reporting on environmental topics, and spending her time outside snowboarding or foraging. Topics of expertise and interest include agriculture, conservation, ecology, and climate science. Learn about our fact checking process Jennifer Hadley / Comedy Wildlife 2022 News Environment Business & Policy Science Animals Home & Design Current Events Treehugger Voices News Archive A tumbling lion cub earned top honors in this year’s Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. The agile cat got a little ahead of himself and not-so-gracefully fell out of a tree. Photographer Jennifer Hadley captured the moment in the Serengeti where she was watching the 3-month-old cub and his siblings playing in a tree. “He wanted to get down and walked all over the branches looking for the right spot and finally just went for it,” Hadley said. “It was probably his first time in a tree and his descent didn't go so well. He was just fine though after landing on the ground. He got up and ran off with some other cubs.” She named the final shot, shown above, “Not So Cat-Like Reflexes.” The image was chosen from about 5,000 entries from more than 85 countries around the world. In addition to being the overall winner, the photo won in the Creatures of the Land category. The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards was founded in 2015 by Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, both professional photographers and conservationists. The competition highlights humorous wildlife images. A portion of the revenue from the contest is donated to the Whitley Fund for Nature, a charity in the United Kingdom that supports conservationists in their home countries. Here's a look at more winners. Creatures of the Air Award Jean Jacques Alcalay / Comedy Wildlife 2022 “Misleading African Viewpoints 2” Shot in Kruger National Park, South Africa, this image shows a hippo yawning next to a heron, standing on the back of another image. It was shot by French photographer Jean Jacques Alcalay. Creatures Under the Water Award Arturo Telle Thiemann / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Say Cheeeese" Arturo Telle Thiemann of Spain photographed these gray triggerfish in Faial, Azores. He said, "Even though they may look funny, these fish can be quite aggressive. In this case, they didn't attempt to bite me, but the domeport of my camera housing ended up with some scratches... life is hard... at least it wasn't me who was hurt." People's Choice Award Jennifer Hadley / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Talk To The Fin!" Overall winner Jennifer Hadley also won in this category win this image of a Magellanic penguin and gentoo penguin photographed in the Falkland Islands. "These two penguins were hanging out on the beach when one shook himself off and gave his mate the snub." Junior Award Arshdeep Singh / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "I CU Boy!" The Junior award was given to Arshdeep Singh of India for this image of a spotted owl who was exploring a small town named Bikaner. Singh saw an owlet inside a pipe. "We waited for a short while and it didn’t take a long time and one of the spotted owlet came out of the pipe," Singh said. "It was really funny when he came out and looked at me straight, before going inside he closed one of his eyes and felt like he wanted to say I CU boy! and I immediately snapped a picture when he gave this pose." Internet Portfolio Award Jia Chen / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Football Dream" Jia Chen won the Portfolio Award for a series of four images of a Cooper's hawk playing with a pine cone. Highly Commended Winners Miroslav Srb / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Hello Everyone" Miroslav Srb of the Czech Republic spotted this raccoon on the beach waving. Srb said, "I photographed raccoon on a Florida beach, where I fed him shrimps. Then he thanked me like that." Federica Vinci / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Monkey Wellness Centre" Federica Vinci of Italy captured this caring moment between monkeys. "Walking near a Cambodian temple where groups of wild monkeys lived, I came across this scene: a wild monkey in total relax, while its friend was taking care of it," she said. Ryan Sims / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Excuse Me... Pardon Me!" Ryan Sims spotted this duckling walking across a turtle-covered log at Juanita Bay Park on Lake Washington in Kirkland, Washington. "The duckling fell off after a few turtle crossings," Sims said. "It was cute." Alex Pansier / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Jumping Jack" Dutch photographer Alex Pansier photographed a red squirrel jumping during a rainstorm in the Netherlands. Mark Schocken / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Tight Fit!" Mark Schocken captured an image of Eastern screech owls in Largo, Florida. "I was going to see and photograph this eastern screech owl nest in a local park in Florida. One morning, a few days before the two owlets fledged, one owlet tried to squeeze into the nest hole with Mom, maybe to see the outside world for the first time," Schocken said. "It was hilarious and I was glad I was there that morning to photograph it. The moment lasted only a few seconds as Mom didn't seem very happy with the arrangement. Check out the expression on her face." John Chaney / Comedy Wildlife 2022 "Fight Back" John Chaney spotted this encounter in Alaska. Chaney said, "This salmon decide to punch the bear in the face rather than be lunch.