photos

2020 has been one rocky year but luckily, in the world of animals, it's never been better! Since the beginning of the pandemic, it was the Earth and animals that have benefited from the lack of us humans destroying the world. 

And with the yearly competition, Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, we're further able to celebrate the magic that is animals, majestic or not. The incredible photographers that have been selected for this year's finalists have really delivered some animal gems! The following photos, captured at the moment, are hysterical and show us all that we're not alone when it comes to looking funny when our photos are taken! 

We were able to talk to Michelle, the head of Comedy Wildlife Photography Award's press office, and asked about the process of narrowing down so many wonderful photographs into the top finalists, she had this to say about the process, "... it is a brutal process. We started with over 7000 images - and whittled them down based on: level of humour, quality of photography, ability to get people's attention. It sounds relatively vague the last point, but we want to get our message of conservation across to as many people as possible, and the images must attract their attention!"

Well, these photographs selected definitely capture our attention! 

The winners will be announced on October 22nd, but the following images are all winners in our eyes! Congrats to all the photographers who made it to the finals and thank you for sharing such imagery with us -- we all could use this fantastic pick-me-up! 

Russian blues are a particularly striking cat breed! With a silky coat of bluish-silver and bright green eyes, you can't help but be enchanted by them.

Oh, also, their personalities are heckin' adorable. They are known to be so incredibly playful, sweet, and cuddly. Russian Blues are known to be affectionate but not overly clingy. According to Hills Pet, "It's said that Russian blues train their owners rather than the owners training them, a legend that's been proven true time and again."

And interestingly enough, the name "Russian Blue" would mean the cat originated from Russia but no one knows for sure. It is believed to be originated from Archangel Isles, in North Russia. 

According to the Cat Fanciers' Association, "the Russian blue breed descended from the cats kept by the Russian Czars. Assuming the Russian blue did migrate from northern Russia, it was likely via ship to England and northern Europe in the mid-1860s."

This breed sure has a royal history! Not that we're surprised. Just look how regal they look: 

What do we want? Corgi booties! 

And when do we want them? Now! 

Nothing like a fluffy butt to bring a smile to someone's face! And you know you can't resist the floofiness, just like we can't resist it either. Embrace for your fluffy-butt-loving self! And when it comes to fluffy booties, corgis got one of the cutest and floofiest booty around! And with those tiny legs... just pure perfection. 

Oh, and some cute and wholesome pics, too. 

This is a hearty blend of animal goodness if we don't say so ourselves! We've got genuinely funny and weird images of animals in unexpected situations. And we've got a sprinkle of some ultra-cute to help balance it all out! 

Sounds like the perfect gallery of animals to us. Enjoy! 

Photography featuring animals is always amazing, but this time, we're looking at animal selfies and shining the spotlight on them! 

These animals love the spotlight so much, they don't mind in the slightest posing for the camera. And honestly, who can blame them? They are all perfection, and a lot more interesting than any selfies we take.

Here to all the spotlight-loving animals! You can view more of National Geographics top animal selfies here. 

Each week we bring you such potent images that there aren't enough words to describe them! 

The very meaning behind an image being worth more than 1000 words is that the image conveys such emotion, complexity, simplicity, and we simply do not have the words to fully describe its beauty in its entirety.  And that is actually beautiful in its own way. 

Sometimes, we don't even need words to express ourselves clearly. Enjoy the following gallery of stunning animal images that don't need any caption. 

Animals always have a way to just be so captivating. Or so we thought...

Who knew animals were just like us?! They too have their unphotogenic moments in front of the camera! But oddly enough, we still think they are adorable! (Goofy, but adorable!) 

Nothing like seeing the majestic wildlife of animals, not looking quite so majestic! 

Don't believe us? Well just scroll on down and take a look for yourself!

A picture is worth more than words means is that the image itself conveys such complexity and sometimes multiple ideas, that it's more effective looking at a visual instead of a mere verbal description of said photo. 

All the following pictures of animals are worth more than 1000 words, and you will soon see why. You don't need a caption or description to feel something when you look at each picture.

If you're in the mood to feel more images, without words, we've got the right assortment of pics for you. 

Cats, cats, cats -- nothing more, nothing less. 

Sometimes, you just need to look at photos of cats. It can calm you, soothe your soul, and just make one feel better. And we don't need any more reason than that to share these images. 

If you're feeling down, stressed, angry, or frustrated, we truly hope the following images of cats help lighten the burden and perhaps even provide you with some joy.

Just a little note that we actually don't find any of the following pictures to be "ugly," just really funny. 

Twitter user, @GinaZwicky, started a lovely thread on July 8th, when she asked for users to reply to her tweet with a "very ugly pictures" of their pets. Of course, an opportunity to share pictures of one's pets is never ever wasted. Before we knew it, the thread had over 1k comments filled with amazing photos and we're here to spread the joy. 

All we can say to the following images is, "cute, cute, and cute!"

Butterflies are a common sight in many gardens, pollinating and feeding on a wide range of flowers.

Those beautiful creatures have an amazing range of color preferences between the various species, but as a general rule, flowers that are white, pink, purple, red, yellow and orange attract the most butterflies. Blue to green flowers are universally the least favorite flower color. Some evidence indicates that butterflies may learn which color flowers tend to produce their favorite types of nectar, using color as a visual cue when hunting for these plants.

We have collected some photos of this wonderful combination between flowers and butterflies.  

Why this random gathering of pictures of cats? For many reasons, actually. It's for you but it's also for us. 

Things have been uncertain this year and it doesn't really seem to be getting all that better. However, do you know what's always great? Cats. Cats just tend to brighten up our day, and the world, a little bit more and we'll take what we can get!

We believe that just looking at images of cats can be as soothing as petting one. So, if at this moment you're feeling stressed about anything at all -- this list is for you. Try to let go, for a moment, and enjoy this simple collection of cats. 

All cats are beautiful! However, some tend to have features that you don't quite see often! 

Here are some uniquely beautiful cats who are purrfectly purrfect in each and every way. Like all cats. 

Once a week, your cuteness prescription will always be automatically refilled for your viewing pleasure!

Nothing -- and we mean nothing brings on those warm mushy feeling like a huge dose of animal cuteness! We scoured the internet to bring you the cutest animal pictures of the week! Bringing you cuteness every week - stay tuned for next week's dose! If you missed last week's dose, and you need a cuteness overload, check out last week's here.

For the fifth year now, the prestigious Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) announced the shortlist photographs of 2020. 

15,000 images submitted by photographers from over 60 countries worldwide are competing in five categories- Birds in the Environment, Birds in Flight, Bird Behavior, Best Portrait, and Garden and Urban Birds. The winners will be announced on Saturday August 22nd. In the meantime, enjoy this wonderful collection of shortlisting photographers. 

Ready for your weekly dose of amazing animal photos? These are sure worth your time. Here's a link to our previous list, in case you missed it.