Gorilla ‘High Five’ Wins Top Prize at Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025
By Arts & Culture Correspondent
The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards have revealed their 2025 winner, with UK photographer Mark Meth-Cohn taking the top spot for his perfectly timed image High Five.
The photograph, captured earlier this year in Rwanda, shows a young gorilla mid-stride in what appears to be a jubilant dance, its hand raised as if greeting the camera.
Judges praised the picture for its humour, timing and the personality it reveals in its subject.
This year’s awards saw a record-breaking 10,000 entries submitted from 109 countries, marking the competition’s biggest year in its eleven-year history.
From this vast pool, 44 still images and videos were shortlisted before the overall winner and category champions were selected.
Meth-Cohn, who also reached last year’s finals, spent four days trekking through Rwanda’s Virunga Mountains to photograph the famed Amahoro gorilla family. The winning shot came as the younger members of the group played energetically in a clearing.
One particularly lively youngster somersaulted, kicked and “performed” for the crowd — behaviour Meth-Cohn described as “pure joy” to witness.
As overall winner, he receives a safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara, a handmade trophy from Tanzania’s Wonder Workshop and a premium photography bag from ThinkTANK.
The shot also secured the Mammals Category Award, cementing its popularity among the judging panel.
Other category winners were also celebrated. Young photographer Grayson Bell claimed two titles — the Nikon Junior Photographer Award and the Reptile, Amphibian and Insect Category — with Baptism of an Unwilling Convert, a striking image of two frogs grappling in water.
Germany’s Paula Rustemeier won the Nikon Young Category with Hit the Dance Floor, featuring two playful foxes, while fellow German Tatjana Epp took the Nikon Video Award with a clip of a “surfing” heron.
Additional honours went to Warren Price for his bird image Headlock, Jenny Stock for her aquatic photograph Smiley, and Maggie Hoffman, whose four-part portfolio Digging for Gold — featuring a mischievous chimpanzee — won the Portfolio Award. Ten more photographers were recognised as Highly Commended.
The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in London, followed by a week-long free exhibition at Gallery@Oxo, showcasing all the finalist images.
This year’s exhibition placed a strong emphasis on sustainability, with all prints produced by Metro Imaging on Hahnemühle bamboo paper — the world’s first inkjet paper made primarily from bamboo fibres. The organisers say the materials were chosen to reflect the Awards’ long-standing commitment to conservation.
The Comedy Wildlife Awards were founded to highlight the lighter side of wildlife while drawing attention to global conservation issues. This year’s winners continue that mix of humour, artistry and environmental awareness that has made the competition a firm favourite with the public and photographers alike.
We are pleased to announce that voting is open from 10th December for the STERNA People’s Choice Award, where the public to get to choose their favourite Finalists from 2025.
The public can cast their vote at https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com until March 1st 2026 and the Winner of this Award will be announced on March 14th.
For information on our other Comedy Wildlife exhibitions, or anything else about the competition and winners, please visit https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com or send an email at info@comedywildlifephoto.com
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