A squirrel launching an aerial tackle on a young owl, an orangutan that appears to give the camera a rude gesture, and a tiny bird glaring straight down the lens are among the finalists in the 2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards. Organizers announced the shortlist on Oct. 1 and 2, drawn from more than 10,000 entries from 112 countries, the most in the competition's history, Colossal reported.

The contest has a serious purpose behind the laughs. Its founders started it to draw attention to wildlife conservation, and this year's charity partner is the Born Free Foundation, which works to protect wild animals and threatened habitats.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Until then, the public can vote for a People's Choice winner.

The Squirrel That Tackled an Owl

The image leading Colossal's gallery comes from U.S. photographer Kevin Lohman. Titled Are You Kidding Me?, it shows a squirrel slamming into a young great horned owl at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California, according to Popular Science.

Lohman said the owl had "barely settled onto its perch before a protective squirrel launched a surprise aerial tackle, knocking it into the grass below," as quoted by Smithsonian magazine. "The most unbelievable part? The squirrel repeated the stunt two more times."

Squirrels feature more than once. French photographer Rémi Schnell captured a red squirrel in midleap with a hazelnut in its mouth in Squirrel Wars, photographed in western France, while Germany's Udo Harms caught a red squirrel in Hanover struggling with an oversized mouthful in Little Godzilla. "This squirrel had taken a bit too much in its mouth. But with a few firm bites, the greenery was made to fit," Harms said.

Not every leap goes well — some end in a crash. Singapore photographer David Lee's The Leap He'll Never Forget shows a long-tailed macaque misjudging a jump and hitting a tree trunk.

An Orangutan with Attitude and a Very Small, Very Angry Bird

Photographer Tanner Mansell photographed a wild orangutan in the rainforests of Borneo finishing a meal with one finger extended toward the camera. The image appears in different outlets under two titles, Spicy Orangutan and Orangutan with Attitude. Popular Science noted the gesture is entirely coincidental, and that orangutans are critically endangered.

The photo carries a pointed message. Mansell's entry caption, as reported by Forbes, describes the orangutan in "the disappearing rainforests of Borneo" and calls the moment "an unsettling reflection of ourselves." Borneo's orangutans have lost much of their forest habitat to logging and plantations.

The Angry Bird comes from Germany's Jan Wittmer, who photographed a goldcrest, one of Europe's smallest birds, on the island of Helgoland. "To get a perspective at eye level, I placed my camera on the ground," Wittmer told Smithsonian. "Suddenly, it came to a complete stop and looked straight into the camera."

Seals, Bears, Owls and a Caiman with an Elvis Hairdo

The wider gallery stretches across continents. Poland's Marek Jackowski has two finalists, including an elephant seal grinning among king penguin chicks in South Georgia and a gang of curious walruses in Svalbard. "Out of nowhere, a squad of eight of them swam right up to check me out," he said of the walruses.

U.S. photographers include Charles Janson, whose brown bears appear to share a joke in Alaska, and Scott Suriano, whose bear seems to be doing a workout move at Lake Clark. Hong Kong's Ka Chun Jacky Sung contributed Resting Owl Face, a deadpan little owl in China.

Other finalists include Italian photographer Paolo Torre's caiman draped in vegetation like a 1950s hairdo, aptly titled Elvis, and a meerkat grooming session by Subi Sridharan in Namibia. Peru's Diego Perez photographed a green mantis in a pose he titled Sexy Mantis. "Almost everyone I showed it to had the same reaction: They laughed immediately," he said.

There are 56 finalists in total: 40 in the main individual categories, three in the under-16 category, four portfolios and nine videos, according to Forbes.

Humor in the Service of Conservation

The competition was founded in 2015 by Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam. Sullam said the goal from the start was awareness. "What began as a small effort to raise awareness of wildlife conservation has grown into something far bigger than we ever imagined," he said in comments published by Colossal. "We use humour to get people to feel empathy towards wildlife, and it's that empathy that creates behavioural change for the better."

The approach reflects a simple idea — people protect what they care about. Several of the featured species face real pressure. Orangutans are critically endangered, walruses depend on sea ice that is shrinking in the Arctic, and many of the elephants, lions and bears shown live in protected areas that rely on tourism and conservation funding.

The judging panel includes television presenters, comedians and professional wildlife photographers, with Born Free co-founder Will Travers among the returning judges. The grand prize is a safari in Kenya's Masai Mara, alongside Nikon camera prizes.

Voting, Prizes and a London Exhibition

The People's Choice Award opened for voting on Oct. 2 and runs until March 1, 2027, according to competition coverage. The 2026 finalists will be shown in a free exhibition at Gallery@Oxo in London from Dec. 9 to 13.

For U.S. readers, the photos offer a lighthearted way to engage with wildlife, but they also carry guidance for anyone photographing animals at home. Photographers in these images worked from a distance and at the animals' pace, and wildlife agencies such as the National Park Service advise keeping a safe distance and never feeding or approaching wild animals for a photo.

The finalists are online now, with winners due Dec. 8. Whichever image takes the top prize, the competition's message is that laughter can be a gateway to caring about animals that need protection.

What Readers Want to Know

What are the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards? It is an annual photography competition, founded in 2015, that celebrates funny moments in nature while promoting wildlife conservation.

Which photos are among the 2026 finalists? Highlights include a squirrel tackling a young owl in California, an orangutan appearing to make a rude gesture in Borneo, and an angry-looking goldcrest in Germany.

How many people entered this year? More than 10,000 entries arrived from 112 countries, a record for the competition. There are 56 finalists across all categories.

When will the winners be announced? Winners will be named at an awards ceremony in London on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2026.

Can the public vote? Yes. People's Choice voting opened Oct. 2 and runs until March 1, 2027.

Which charity does the competition support? The 2026 charity partner is the Born Free Foundation, which works to protect wild animals and threatened habitats.