Thanks to its adorable chubby cheeks and silly dashing gait, a wild European hamster has stolen the show at the 2015 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards or CWPA. The humorous photo titled "Rush Hour" nabbed top honors in the inaugural competition.

Distinguished for its lighthearted focus on the giggle-inducing, serendipitous side of wildlife photography, the photo contest aims to highlight technically excellent images that showcase "the funny side of the majestic creatures we love to photograph and protect."

CWPA founder Paul Joynson-Hicks was inspired to establish the contest through his own experience as a wildlife photographer. As he explains on the competition's website, "I often enter wildlife photography competitions (so far with very little success!), but I love seeing the funny pictures. Strangely enough, they are harder to come by than you might think."

Julian Rad, the Austrian photographer responsible for the winning hamster image, was awarded with an impressive array of prizes, including a trophy, a Nikon D750 camera and a seven-day guided photo safari trip to Tanzania. Meanwhile, the photographers responsible for the silver and bronze award-winning images (below) were awarded some enviable Nikon camera equipment.