In the forests of Rwanda in Africa, a gorilla stretched its foot upward. British wildlife photographer Mark Meth-Cohn gave the photo he took the title "High Five." A high kick might fit since it's a foot, but the sole looks like a human hand, so the title isn't wrong.
The Nikon Wildlife Photography Awards said on the 9th (local time) that Meth-Cohn's gorilla photo was selected as this year's overall No. 1 work. The organizers said 10,000 entries came in from 109 countries this year, the highest in the contest's 11-year history. Of the entries, 44 pieces, including the winning video, were shortlisted, and Meth-Cohn's work clearly stood out among the judges and even swept No. 1 in the mammals institutional sector.
◇Held to raise interest in wildlife conservation
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards began in 2015, started by British photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam. This year marks the 11th edition. Other photo contests award images that capture the majesty of wildlife, but this one, true to its name, honors photos that capture wildlife's comical moments. The founders said they launched the awards to focus on the brighter side of wildlife and, through humor, raise interest in animals threatened with extinction.
The exhibition also helps wildlife conservation efforts. Each year, the organizers donated part of the contest revenue to the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), a British wildlife conservation foundation that co-hosted the event. The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) has supported more than 220 environmental activists in 80 countries over the past 30 years with £23 million (about 45 billion won).
The overall No. 1 winner was shot in Rwanda earlier this year. Judges said it captured the perfect moment of a dancing gorilla in a forest clearing. Meth-Cohn said, "I spent an unforgettable four days exploring the misty Virunga Mountains where gorilla families live," and, "One day, I met a family in a forest clearing, and a young male showed off his high kicks and somersaults." He added, "Watching the gorilla's performance was pure joy, and I'm delighted I could capture his playful spirit in this image."
Meth-Cohn also reached the finals in last year's contest. He said it had been his lifelong dream to photograph big cats on Africa's vast plains. That dream became reality by taking overall No. 1 in this contest. The top winner receives a safari trip in Kenya's Maasai Mara. A trophy and a camera bag are also awarded.
Stefan Maier, Nikon's senior marketing manager for Europe, said, "The top-winning work perfectly captures the play of wildlife," and, "Nikon is proud to support visual storytellers like this year's winners, inspiring global audiences to connect with and protect the planet's amazing wildlife."
◇Striking surprised expressions of an eagle and a monkey
Grayson Bell of the United States won both the junior institutional sector award for ages 16 and under and the reptiles, amphibians and insects institutional sector award. He gave the title "Forced baptism" to a close-up of two frogs wrestling underwater. Germany's Paula Rustemeier won the under-25 young photographer institutional sector award with a playful fox photo titled "Dance battle of foxes."
Britain's Warren Price captured a moment with the heads of two puffins overlapped and titled it "Headlock." The photo won the birds institutional sector award. Also from Britain, Jenny Stock won the fish and other aquatic animals institutional sector award with "kimchi" (original title Smiley), a shot of a blue-streaked blenny.
Stock said she chose the title because, in the Philippines, the blue-streaked blenny kept poking its head out from coral as if asking to be photographed. It measures only 8 centimeters long and looks comical, but it is actually a fearsome species. When it encounters an enemy, this fish bites and injects a deadly venom.
Germany's Tatjana Epp took first place in the video institutional sector with a dazzling clip of a surfing heron. In March, while watching a heron at Kruger National Park in South Africa, she filmed it gliding over the water as if surfing.
Later, she realized the heron was riding on a hippo's back. With many crocodiles nearby, the hippo's back was a perfect hiding place for survival, not a playground, for the heron. Epp said, "When the hippo started to move, the heron nearly lost its balance but soon steadied itself," and, "The bird seeming to enjoy the sense of speed was a once-in-a-lifetime scene."
Maggie Hoffman of the United States won the series institutional sector award with a sequence titled "Gold mining" showing a chimpanzee diligently picking its nose. The female chimpanzee in the photos, as babies do, put the "gold" she dug from her nose into her mouth.
Besides the winners by institutional sector, the organizers named 10 entries as Highly Commended. Meth-Cohn, the overall No. 1 winner, also received a commendation for a photo of a mother gorilla kissing her baby. This year's winning works will be exhibited from the 10th to the 14th at Gallery@Oxo in London. The organizers said this year's contest was sponsored not only by Nikon but also by paper maker Hahnemühle and printer Metro Imaging.
References
Nikon Wildlife Photography Awards, https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com/gallery/nikon-comedy-wildlife-2025-competition-winners.php