Free Range Free Chat

It’s another Monday as we finish out the year, the Monday after Christmas, soon to be 2023. In a year full of drama, chaos, and lightening fast changes, some things stay consistent. What, you may ask, stays consistent in this world? The fact that whatever’s going on, we’re going to have opinions and express them, hence our daily NV free chats, AND the fact that humor seeps through in the strangest places, whether it’s a comment section or, as we see today, in nature and the non-humans we share the planet with.

The winners of the Comedy Wildlife photo contest for 2022 have been announced, and they show us that as tough as 2022 may have been in many ways, there’s a whole world of lives happening out there unconcerned with human insanity. . .

The awards were co-founded in 2015 by photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, with a vision of making people laugh – while also helping to conserve wildlife. Over the last 29 years, they have channelled £20 million to 200 conservationists in 80 countries. We love to hear it.The final 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards shortlist included 40 standalone photos and 10 portfolio entries. Have a gander at the winning shot and some of our fave pics from this year’s awards below.


“Good morning”

Mark Schocken’s photo of two Eastern screech owls squeezed into a nest hole in Florida.
Jennifer Hadley’s overall winning photo of a 3-month-old cub tumbling out of a tree.
Jean Jacques Alcalay’s photo of a hippo yawning next to a heron. The photo won the Spectrum Photo Creatures in the Air Award.

Michael Eastwell’s photo of two wallabies playing on the beach in Australia’s Cape Hillsborough.
Arturo Telle Thiemann’s photo of a couple triggerfish looking into the camera. The photo won the Creatures Under the Sea Award
Arshdeep Singh’s photo of an owlet in a pipe in Bikaner, India. The photo won the Junior Award.
Ryan Sims’ photo of a duckling waddling across a turtle-covered log at the Juanita wetlands in Washington state.
Emmanuel Do Linh San’s photo of two meerkats on the Kalahari Trails game reserve in South Africa.
Miroslav Srb.’s photo of a raccoon seemingly thanking Srb. for feeding him shrimp on a Florida beach.
John Chaney’s photo of a salmon appearing to punch a bear in the face at Alaska’s Brooks Falls.

Welcome to Free Range, our open forum for topics ranging ALL over: what’s happening in your world this December 26, 2022?

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