The animal kingdom is a dynamic place, filled with plenty of action and drama. Freeze and capture any moment in time and an animal’s behaviour can become hilarious.

A smoking fox, a flying seal, and an avian family dispute are among the 41 images shortlisted for this year’s Comedy Wildlife Photo awards.

Narrowed down from thousands of entries submitted by professional and amateur photographers from around the world, the competition aims to celebrate the hilarity of our natural wildlife.

And this year’s selection does not disappoint.

The overall winner, category and highly commended winners will be announced on November 23.

Last year’s winner was US photographer Jennifer Hadley’s shot of a baby lion misjudging what could have been his first leap.

Here’s a selection of some of the finalists in the running for 2023.