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Photos: Hilarious Animal Antics

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Silly animals

bear missing salmon

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Rob Kroenert / Barcroft Images)

Wild animals are majestic, awe-inspiring, frightening -- and sometimes, downright hilarious. This year, a bevy of talented wildlife photographers captured some of the silliest animal antics for the 2016 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. After many hours, a few head scratches and countless belly laughs, the judges chose 39 images for the finals. The funniest photo will be announced Nov. 9, 2016. Here, one of the finalists: A bear has a near miss with a salmon in Katmai National Park in Alaska in 2014.

Bear with wings

bear gets wings

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Adam Parsons / Barcroft Images)

A bear gets his wings in this silly mashup photo taken in September, 2015.

Unsavory calling card

bird pooping on water buffalo

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Tom Stables / Barcroft Images)

A bird leaves an unfortunate signature on a water buffalo in Meru National Park in Kenya in July, 2016

Never too much corn

chipmunk gorging on corn

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Barb D'Arpino / Barcroft Images)

A chipmunk gorges on corn in Wasaga Beach, Ontario Canada in 2010.

In a tangle

deer tangled in leaves

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY James Mitson / Barcroft Images)

A deer gets himself into a tricky situation in Richmond Park in London

Head in the sand

elephant faceplants

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Markus Pavlowsky / Barcroft Images)

A baby elephant does a faceplant in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe in 2015.

Go deep

fox faceplants in snow

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Angela Bohlke / Barcroft Images)

Just one of those days for a fox in Yellowstone National Park in 2015

Say "Cheese"

frog smiling

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Artyom Krivosheev / Barcroft Images)

A frog smiles big for wildlife photographer Artyom Krivosheev somewhere in Russia

Losing your head

headless penguins

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Charles Kinsey / Barcroft Images)

Headless penguins on South Georgia Island

Day of the warrior

lizard practicing kung-fu

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Anup Deodhar / Barcroft Images)

A lizard practices a little kung-fu with a tiny twig in 2013

The owl has landed

owl landing

(Image credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY Austin Thomas / Barcroft Images)

An owl keeps one wing open and another closed for a bold crosswind landing in Lancashire, England in 2011

Tia Ghose
Tia Ghose
Managing Editor

Tia is the managing editor and was previously a senior writer for Live Science. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired.com and other outlets. She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington, a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births, which won multiple awards, including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.