This striking shot of a Japanese Snow Monkey is in the running to be named the funniest animal photo of the year (Picture: Roie Galitz)

What ever happens to the footage that doesn’t quite make it into Planet Earth, or the portraits that don’t grace the cover of National Geographic?

Well, it turns out there’s an awards scheme for skillfully snapped photographs of animals being hilarious, cheeky and downright dirty.

Thousands of photographers from all over the world have submitted their finest captures for the 2019 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. 40 finalists have just been announced.

Now in its fifth year, the competition supports The Born Free Foundation, a charity that works to preserve and protect wildlife in its natural habitat.

The winners are set to be announced on 13 November. And, as you’ll be able to see after a quick scroll, the animals are the true winners here.

A cheeky chimpanzee in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania (Picture: Thomas D. Mangelsen)
Austrian marmot or charismatic church preacher? (Picture: Martina Gebert)
‘I said: Can you hear me?!’ voiced the bird to its mate (Picture: Vlado Pirsa)
Just a couple of sea otter mates, having a laugh (Picture: Andy Harris)
We are not lion about the irony here (Picture: Adwait Aapale)
This daring chimp is basically every single male on Instagram (Picture: Ryan Jefferds)
A teeny tiny red squirrel makes a secret wish… (Picture: Geert Weggen)
Is it a bird, is it a plane? (Picture: Bob Carter)
Surf’s up for this Gentoo penguin (Picture: Elmar Weiss)
A big old rhino marks its territory in Nairobi National Park (Picture: Tilakraj Nagaraj)
This young brown bear has had enough (Picture: Eric Fisher)
The common blue damselfly strikes a sassy pose (Picture: Kevin Sawford)

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