Some of the funniest animal pics of the year so far

This photo shows a Gippsland water dragon in Australia. Wandering along the Murrumbidgee River, photographer Trevor Rix says he spotted a few lizards scurrying under the rocks looking for lunch. Next thing, one popped up and gave them a friendly wave.

Every year the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards gathers together some of the best photos of animals doing silly and daft things or being caught in poses where they look funny.

The contest was started in 2015 by professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam, aiming to promote conservation by focusing on the funny side of wildlife photography.

People send their snaps into the competition, and a panel of judges choose their favourites.

You can see some of last year's awards right here.

Here are just some of the entries for this year's competition so far. The deadline for people to send them in is the end of June. Let's take a look.

Emma Parker called this photo 'Laugh like no-one is watching', as it shows two blue-spotted mudskippers who look like they are having the best time in the mud. Emma says, "I just wish I knew what the joke was!"

Surprise! This white-tailed sea eagle pops up out of the snow in Japan after hiding their fish in a hole and seeing another eagle trying to pinch it.

This lava lizard looks like it's taken charge of a Galapagos marine iguana - ready for a ride! These two were caught hanging out with a big bunch of marine iguanas by Rachelle Mackintosh on a rocky beach on Fernandina Island in the Galapagos Islands.

Need a boost? Here are two young lions at play, where one of the siblings seems to be pushing the other one up a tree. Photographer Bhargava Srivari says lions aren't natural climbers, so it looks like one sibling could be encouraging the other to do something naughty...

Whose turn is it next? Martin Schmid took this photo of Gentoo penguins queuing up for their turn to jump off the iceberg diving board into the chilly waters of the Neumayer Channel, near Antarctica.

Aw, soooo cute! This photo shows a caring gorilla mum giving her infant a big sloppy kiss. It was taken by Mark Meth-Cohn in Rwanda. Look at the baby's scrunched-up face.