The natural world offers scenes of immense beauty, but sometimes even animals get a little weird.

The 41 funniest animals in the 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards range from candid photos of relaxing animals to cracked-out pelicans protecting their young.

“You leave our son alone.” Photo: Zoey Ashdown/Comedy Wildlife

Winners of each category will be announced on November 23, with one photo taking out the grand prize of a week-long African safari.

Comedy Wildlife started in 2015 and has grown into an international photography competition with millions of viewers and hundreds of entries.

The public will have the option to pick their favourite in the People’s Choice Awards, but here are some of our favourites.

How the fox got the cigar, we’ll never know. Photo: David Vacarro/Comedy Wildlife

Novice and expert photographers can enter up to 10 images for free, promoting the preservation of biodiversity through the competition.

The overall winner of Comedy Wildlife Photographer of the Year wins a trip on a safari, and people can vote for their favourite photo and go into the draw for a cash prize.

A safari awaits one lucky winner. Photo: Bill Gozanksy/ComedyWildlife

Comedy Wildlife donates 10 per cent of the revenue from the Photography Awards each year, with proceeds from last year’s competition going towards the Whitley Fund for Nature.

This one is a balancing act. Photo: Tzaiah Finklestein

View the full gallery here.