Whether on a safari in South Africa or tracking bears in Canada, wildlife watching can be one of the most exciting ways to explore a destination. It can also be hilarious, as proved by these savvy photographers. For the fourth year running the Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards are using their annual competition as a way of raising awareness about conservation. Here, we take a look back at the funniest entries since the competition's beginnings.

This bear is simply angelic, though appears to be totally unimpressed by his newly-gained wings.

We're not in on the joke with this one, but it's making us smile just as much. This photo of a laughing dormouse, taken in Italy, secured the photographer a win in the On The Land category in 2017.

This majestic lizard was spotted guarding his area of grassland.

Who knew penguins were so pious? This trio of flightless birds was captured on South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic.

A polar bear cub clings to the backside of his mother in Manitoba, Canada.

Two mudskippers appear to be belting out an opera duo in this picture taken in Krabi, Thailand.

A naughty fox captured leaving an unwelcome surprise on a golf course in San Jose, USA.

There's a serious gossip culture among the seals in San Simeon, California.

Nothing like a relaxing morning stretch session.

If you could hear this seal laugh, you know it'd be a hearty, Santa-style ho, ho, ho.

"Is there something on my back? I swear there's something on my back!"

Sometimes you just need a hug...

We've all been there...

We thought it was only meerkats that employed this kind of surveillance, but apparently wildebeest do too...

Taken in Preston, England, this photo of a duck flying in front of a plane trail won the Up In The Air category last year.

A red squirrel caught showing off his best moves.

This burrowing owl, photographed in Santa Rose, Argentina, took the expression 'look at things from a different perspective' a little too literally.

This pair are literally monkeying around North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

A gorilla's gotta do what a gorilla's gotta do...

We all hate being photographed mid-meal, but this wild rabbit captured in Flanders, Belgium wears it quite well.

A pelican misses out on lunch at Kerkini Lake, Greece.

This cheerful sea otter, captured in California, isn't shy about sharing his joy.

This squirrel appears to be conducting an orchestra in a meadow.

This salmon is getting its own back on the bear trying to eat it.

This sea turtle isn't happy sharing the limelight with a fish in Bacong, Philippines. The picture won the Under The Sea category last year.

We've all had them. This deer was captured camouflaging in Richmond Park, London.

This chubby little hamster won the first-ever competition in 2015.

This shot, taken in Harghita county, Romania, has caught two bears in a rather compromising position.

This cute owl is channelling all of us on a Monday morning.

And this is us by Friday, clinging onto the day... This is the overall winner from 2017's competition, captured in Ópusztaszer, Hungary.