Animal magic: Comedy Wildlife photo awards winners

Photographer Jennifer Hadley's lion cub shot takes top prize

Overall winner of winner of the Alex Walker's Serian Creatures Of The Land Award — Not so cat like reflexes by Jennifer Hadley. Photo: Jennifer Hadley / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Creatures Under The Water Award winner - Say Cheeeeeeese by Arturo Telle. Photo: Arturo Telle / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Spectrum Photo Creatures Of The Air Award - Hippo and Heron by Jean Jacques Alcalay. Photo: Jean Jacques Alcalay / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Junior Award winner - ICU boy! by Arshdeep Singh. Photo: Arshdeep Singh / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Amazing Internet Portfolio Award winner - Stare by Jia-Chen. Photo: Jia-Chen / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - Monkey Wellness Centre by Federico Vinci. Photo: Federico Vinci / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - Keep Calm and Keep Your Head by Martin Grace. Photo: Martin Grace / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - Excuse Me...Pardon Me! by Ryan Sims. Photo: Ryan Sims / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - I'm gonna strangle you by Emmanuel Do Linh San. Photo: Emmanuel Do Linh San / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - Tight Fit by Mark Schocken. Photo: Mark Schocken / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - Jumping Jack by Alex Pansier. Photo: Alex Pansier / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - Pegasus, the flying horse by Jagdeep Rajput. Photo: Jagdeep Rajput / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Affinity Photo 2 People's Choice Award winner - Talk To The Fin..by Jennifer Hadley. Photo: Jennifer Hadley / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - It's all kicking off! by Michael Eastway. Photo: Michael Eastway / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - Hello Everyone by Miroslav Srb. Photo: Miroslav Srb / Comedy Wildlife 2022

Highly Commended - Fight Back by John Chaney. Photo: John Chaney / Comedy Wildlife 2022

A not-so-elegant lion cub smacking into a tree trunk and learning a valuable lesson on the laws of gravity has been honoured in the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.

His exploits beat yawning hippos, headless penguins and apparently flying horses to take the Creatures of the Land category and the overall title.

Photographer Jennifer Hadley explained the events behind the shot. “He wanted to get down and walked all over the branches looking for the right spot and finally just went for it,” she said.

“It was probably his first time in a tree and his descent didn't go so well. He was just fine, though, after landing on the ground. He got up and ran off with some other cubs.”

The Affinity Photo 2 People’s Choice Award, voted for by the public, also went to Ms Hadley for her charming shot of two stroppy penguins entitled Talk to the Fin!

Arturo Telle Thiemann won the underwater category with his shot of grey trigger fish in the Azores smiling for the camera.

Jia Chen was awarded the Amazing Internet Portfolio Award for Football Dream — four images of a Cooper's hawk playing football.

The winner of the Think Tank Photo Junior Category was Arshdeep Singh, who entered a shot of a winking owl resting in a pipe.

Ms Hadley was up against 5,000 entries from more than 85 countries and her image fought off fierce competition in what organisers said was its closest vote to date.

The photo, captured in the Serengeti, Tanzania, captured the moment the three-month-old cub tried to climb down a tree.

Ms Hadley wins a trip to the Masai Mara, Kenya, with Alex Walker’s Serian safari company.

“I think part of what makes this contest great is that most of these photos probably happen by complete accident and that was certainly the case with the lion cub falling out of the tree,” she said.

“It didn't even occur to me that he would make a go of getting down by himself in the most un-cat like fashion. I mean, how often do cats fall out of trees?

“The gasp that emanated from our vehicle was palatable," she added. "No one expected this to happen and of course we were concerned for his safety, but happily, as cats do, he righted himself just in time and landed on all fours and ran off with his siblings. A happy ending for a hapless kitty who didn't quite know how to get down from a tree.”

The awards were founded in 2015 by Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, both professional photographers and passionate conservationists.

This year’s charity beneficiary is the Whitley Fund for Nature, which supports conservation leaders working in their home countries across the Southern Hemisphere.

The shortlist of entries