It turns out, like humans, animals too only want their best angles snapped, with several of the finalist images at this year’s Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards striking some seriously sexy poses.
The global photography competition has revealed its shortlist for the 2026 edition, which saw more than 10,000 entries, the highest number in its history, from 112 countries.
Among them is a praying mantis strutting the sexiest look you never knew an animal could do, captured by Peruvian photographer Diego Perez.
Perez told the competition organizers that he had first tried photographing the entire insect, but the images “felt too familiar,” subsequently lowering his position to get the promiscuous
Then there’s a caiman, photopraphed by Italian Paolo Torre, who appears to be rocking an Elvis-esque hairstyle while giving the camera the most seductive side-eye only the King of Rock ’n’ Roll knew how to.
According to Torre, the animal had emerged from the water in an area with a lot of floating vegetation, some of which had remained on its head.
Finally, US photographer Scott Suraino snapped an Alaskan brown bear showing off its fantastic physique during what appeared to be a morning calisthenics routine. Suraino said that it seemed like the “beach babe” was getting her summer body ready.
Perez, Torre, and Suraino will now compete, along with all of the other finalists, to be crowned the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photographer of the Year and win a safari trip to Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Other prizes include a Nikon Z6 III, Z50II, and ZR, plus rucksacks from ThinkTANK.
The overall winner, category winner, and highly commended images will be announced on Tuesday, December 8, at an awards night in London. This will be followed by a one-week exhibition in December for all the 2026 finalists at the OXO Gallery in London.
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