An adorably amusing snap of a wild hamster on the run with its cheeks stuffed has been announced winner of the first Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.

Julian Rad’s fun picture “Rush Hour” took gold, with Liam Richardson’s shot of a stag covered in ferns, “You Haven’t Seen Me…”, awarded silver. Bronze went to “Nearly Got It” by Oliver Dreike. showing a black gorilla shamelessly picking its nose. 

The competition was founded by wildlife photographer Paul Joynson-Hicks. It is open to anyone keen to show off their most entertaining animal pictures and highlight “the funny side of the majestic creatures we love to photograph and protect”.

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“I often enter wildlife photography competitions (so far with very little success!) but I love seeing the funny pictures,” he writes on the website. “I love seeing the funny pictures. Strangely enough, they are harder to come by than you might think.”

Highly Commended, by Alison Buttigeig
Silver Runner-up: 'You Haven't Seen Me' by Liam Richardson

 

Highly Commended, by Megan Lorenz

Rad wins a trophy, a Nikon D750 camera and a seven-day photo safari trip to Tanzania, while Richardson and Drake were both given Nikon camera equipment.

The winners were decided by a panel of judges who looked through over 1,500 entries to select 45 finalists, some of whom received highly commended honours.

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