“The smile factor is just as important as the wow factor.” Mark Meth-Cohn wins the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

Natalie Denton•Ljudje in dogodki•12 dec. 2025•5 min. branja

The results are in for the photo contest that never fails to raise a smile. Time for the big reveal…

Yoga-posing lemurs, peekaboo-playing elephants and even an unwilling toad baptism were among the standout 44 images and videos selected from a record-breaking 10,000 plus entries in this year’s Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, the highest tally in the competition’s 11-year history. The free global contest, open to beginners and seasoned wildlife photographers alike, celebrates the joy found in nature while encouraging a wider conversation about conservation, and culminated in an awards night at the OXO Gallery, London, on 9 December 2025, and a free public exhibition that runs from 10-14 December.

I’ll ‘high five’ to that!

This year’s winning image, taken by retired Lake District based engineer Mark Meth-Cohn, depicts a high spirited gorilla and also earned him the Mammals Category Award. “On this particular day, the adult gorillas were calmly foraging while the youngsters were enthusiastically playing,” says Mark, who also secured a Highly Commended win with Aaaaawa – mum, depicting a grimacing young gorilla being kissed by its mother, and was a finalist in last year's awards. Recalling how he captured the winning High Five image while trekking through the misty Virunga Mountains in Rwanda that spring, he adds, “One young male was especially keen to show off his acrobatic flair, pirouetting, tumbling and high kicking. Watching his performance was hilarious and all my efforts that morning were focused on him. I’m thrilled to have captured his playful spirit. Later in the hotel, when reviewing the day’s images, I had no doubt in my mind about the potential of the pictures I had taken.”

Photographing the young primate from ground level with a wide-angle lens to increase impact, Mark believes people are naturally drawn to humour in wildlife imagery. “But this wasn’t just a fluke pose or momentary pull of the face, it was a deliberate act by a young gorilla to show off to his human cousins, an act that went on for several minutes,” says Mark. “It was genuine comedy and a joy to witness! This competition has taught me to always look for a lighter side in everything I photograph. The smile factor is just as important as the wow factor.”

Alongside a beautiful handmade trophy crafted by the Wonder Workshop in Tanzania, Mark also receives a safari experience in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, and a premium photography bag from the renowned THINK TANK.

The results are in for the photo contest that never fails to raise a smile. Time for the big reveal…

I’ll ‘high five’ to that!

Natalie Denton

Writer

What’s in our kitbag?

Z6IIINext level, full-frame camera

Z5IITruly together

Hit the Dancefloor. Nikon Young Photographer Award (U25) © Paula Rustemeier / Nikon Comedy Wildlife.

Foxy moves

Taking home this year’s Nikon Young Photographer Award (U25) was German photographer Paula Rustemeier, whose playful image, Hit the Dancefloor, shows three young foxes in the Netherlands, one tumbling face first into the sand while the others look on in amusement. A student at the Trier University of Applied Science, Paula captured the moment in 2022 at the very start of her wildlife photography journey. “The foxes were really comfortable around me,” she says. “They were cubs, and they would meet up in the evenings and start playing.” Regularly visiting the same spot at dawn and always using a fast shutter and burst mode, Paula says timing is everything. “Lots of comedic wildlife images are great, but you don’t often get interactions like this. Three foxes together, one falling on its face, the others almost laughing. It looked like a dance floor, like a little competition. That’s what made it good for me.”

Left: ThinkTANK Birds Award winner © Warren Price / Nikon Comedy Wildlife. Fish and Other Aquatic Species Award © Jenny Stock / Nikon Comedy Wildlife. Right: Reptiles, Amphibians and Insects Award and the Nikon Junior Award (U16) © Grayson Bell / Nikon Comedy Wildlife.

Congratulations to all…

More laughs came from across the categories, including Warren Price’s ThinkTANK Birds Award winner Headlock, capturing a guillemot with its head clamped in a neighbour’s beak, and Jenny Stock’s Fish and Other Aquatic Species Award winner Smiley, starring a cheeky bluestriped fangblenny peering from coral. Grayson Bell’s Baptism of the Unwilling Convert scooped both the Reptiles, Amphibians and Insects Award and the Nikon Junior Award (U16). Maggie Hoffman took the Amazing Internet Portfolio Award with her mischievous chimp, Digging for Gold, while Tatjana Epp claimed the Video Award for her Surfing Heron.

Digging for Gold. Amazing Internet Portfolio Award. © Maggie Hoffman/ Nikon Comedy Wildlife

Highly commended photographers added even more humour, from Alison Tuck’s windblown gannet in Now Which Direction Is My Nest and Annette Kirby’s seemingly laughing Steller’s sea eagle in Go Away, to Christy Grinton’s dishevelled squirrel in Bad Hair Day, Brett Saalwaechter’s lion cub mischief in I Just Can't Wait to Be King and Erkko Badermann’s wobbly loon in Landing Gear Down. Then there’s Kalin Botev’s playful baboons in Monkey Circus, Liliana Luca’s finger-licking sifaka lemur in Fonzies Advertising, Meline Ellwanger’s yawning lions in The Choir and Valtteri Mulkahainen’s grinning bear in Smile, You’re Being Photographed.

Surfing heron. Video Award. ©Tatjana Epp / Nikon Comedy Wildlife

While the awards may have closed for this year, voting is open from 10 December for the People’s Choice Award, which gives the public a chance to choose their favourite finalists from 2025. Cast your vote at www.comedywildlifephoto.com by 1 March 2026, as the winner will be announced on 14 March. What’s more, one lucky voter will be selected at random to win a cash prize of £500.

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