From an exercise-loving bear to an orangutan with a cheeky gesture, these are 10 of the funniest wildlife photographs of the year.

A grumpy-looking owl, playful bears and a relaxed praying mantis are among the shortlisted images in the 2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards.

In the photograph above, a female brown bear was spotted seeming to perform a morning workout near Lake Clark in Alaska, US. Her routine included a few bicycle-kick moves as though she were preparing herself for the summer months.

Here are nine more wonderfully comic moments from the natural world.

This red squirrel in Germany was photographed with an enormous mouthful of food, apparently taking on more than it could comfortably manage. Despite the challenge, it kept chewing while holding an impressively theatrical pose.

Photographer Tapani Linnanmäki captured a white-tailed eagle landing on wet sea ice along Finland’s west coast. Having watched and photographed eagles there for many years, Linnanmäki believes it may be the same striking bird that received the public’s choice prize in the 2024 contest, although he cannot be certain.

Is it relaxing in the sunshine or striking a pose? The amusing effect comes from an optical illusion: the praying mantis’s back legs are concealed behind the leaf. The image was taken in the proposed Bosques del Araza Regional Conservation Area in Cusco, Peru, a region intended to protect the sources of several major rivers and under growing pressure from illegal gold mining.

This mountain scops owl briefly landed in front of a group of birdwatchers at Nanling National Forest Park in China. Amid the burst of camera clicks, the owl seemed to wear an expression of complete disapproval.

Photographer Kyo Chen was observing a school of spadefish in the waters near Dumaguete in the Philippines when the vast outline of a whale shark came into view. He quickly pressed the shutter and caught what looked like a moment of pure panic among the smaller fish.

When Kevin Lohman aimed his camera at a young great horned owl at Natural Bridges State Beach in California, a squirrel suddenly leapt through the frame towards the owlet. The pair tumbled down into the grass. The squirrel repeated the dramatic move twice more, and Lohman says neither animal appeared to be hurt.

It is unclear whether these three meerkats in Namibia were truly arranging themselves for a family photo, but the smallest one looked very familiar with standing still for a grooming check.

This wild orangutan in Borneo had just finished eating when it was photographed apparently raising its middle finger. Orangutans are critically endangered, while the forests they depend on continue to disappear at an alarming rate.

Charles Janson photographed two teenage brown bears mock-fighting in Chinitna Bay, Alaska. Such playful sparring helps young bears practise for the serious confrontations they may face as adult males. “There is debate over whether the expressions on these bears’ faces are really comparable to human smiles, but I prefer to believe they are,” Janson says.