Photo of high-fiving gorilla wins gold at Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards thanks to perfect comedic timing

Image of gorilla with foot high in the air on green foliage background

Overall Winner – 'High Five' (Image credit: © Mark Meth Cohn / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards)

An image of a high-fiving gorilla has taken the comedic crown at the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025. The photograph of the great ape, dubbed ‘High Five’, depicts a young male high-kicking his way across the Virunga Mountains landscape (Ministry of Silly Walks, anyone?).

Mark Meth Cohn was on hand to immortalize the moment, which has been picked as the overall winner and landed the UK wildlife photographer a safari experience in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, as well as a handmade trophy made by Tanzania-based Wonder Workshop, and a Think Tank camera bag.

Close-up of mother gorilla appearing to kiss baby gorilla — Highly Commended – “Aaaaawa - mum” (Image credit: © Mark Meth Cohn / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards)

According to Mark: “The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards are one of the major competitions of the year, easy to enter and fun but with a seriously committed underlying ethos and, after reaching the finals last year, I'm absolutely delighted to have gone one step further and win the competition this year”. Remarkably, the photographer actually placed twice, earning a highly commended spot with ‘Aaaaawa - mum’, a photo of a wincing baby gorilla being kissed by its mother.

Image of pair of guillemots against overcast background — Think Tank Birds Award winner – ‘Headlock’ (Image credit: © Warren Price / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards)

Three Category Winners have also been announced. UK photographer Warren Price’s guffaw-inducing image of a guillemot peeping through its partner’s bill, fittingly entitled ‘Headlock’, won the Think Tank Birds Award. A beaming underwater photo of a bluestriped fangblenny entitled ‘Smiley’ earned the UK’s Jenny Stock the Fish and Other Aquatic Species Award.

Image of orange fish peeping out of hole — Fish and Other Aquatic Species Award winner – ‘Smiley’ (Image credit: © Jenny Stock / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards)

USA photographer Grayson Bell swiped both the Reptiles, Amphibian and Insect Award, and Nikon Junior Category (Under 16) Award, for an outstanding photograph of a frog seemingly about to dunk another frog into a pool of water, rather humorously dubbed ‘Baptism of the Unwilling Convert’.

Two frogs are engaged in a dramatic encounter in murky water. One frog, green and speckled, grasps the other, bright yellow, near a muddy bank — ‘Baptism of the Unwilling Convert’ won both the Reptiles, Amphibian and Insect Award, and Nikon Junior Category (Under 16) Award (Image credit: Grayson Bell / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards)

Germany’s Paula Rustemeier won the Nikon Young Photographer Category (Under 25) with a charming photo called ‘Hit the dance floor - foxes in a breakdance battle’, depicting a trio of playful foxes appearing to dance on a sandy dune.

Image of three foxes playing on sandy dune — Nikon Young Photographer Category (Under 25) winner – ‘Hit the dance floor - foxes in a breakdance battle’ (Image credit: © Paula Rustemeier / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards)

The Amazing Internet Portfolio Award went to the USA’s Maggie Hoffman, for a hilarious series of four images entitled ‘Digging for Gold’, showing a female chimpanzee picking her nose and (you guessed it) chowing down on the spoils! Germany’s Tatjana Epp was also named Video Category Winner with her video, ‘Surfing Heron’, of a heron skimming its way across a body of water.

A gannet with a nest of grass and plants on its head stands on a grassy cliff, overlooking a blue ocean — Highly Commended – 'Now which direction is my nest' (Image credit: AlisonTuck / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards)

Ten photographers, including the aforementioned Mark Meth Cohn, received Highly Commended honors: Alison Tuck (UK), Annette Kirby (Australia), Christy Grinton (Canada), Bret Saalwaechter (USA), Erkko Badermann (Finland), Kalin Botev (Bulgaria), Liliana Luca (Italy), Meline Ellwanger (USA), and Valtteri Mulkahainen (Finland).

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Mike studied photography at college, honing his Adobe Photoshop skills and learning to work in the studio and darkroom. After a few years writing for various publications, he headed to the ‘Big Smoke’ to work on Wex Photo Video’s award-winning content team, before transitioning back to print as Technique Editor (later Deputy Editor) on N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine.

With bylines in Digital Camera, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, Practical Photography, Digital Photographer, iMore, and TechRadar, he’s a fountain of photography and consumer tech knowledge, making him a top tutor for techniques on cameras, lenses, tripods, filters, and more. His expertise extends to everything from portraits and landscapes to abstracts and architecture to wildlife and, yes, fast things going around race tracks...

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