A hiker admires the view as Mt. Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, erupts in the background, in the Bove Valley of Etna Park, on the eastern slope of Mt. Etna, in Sicily, southern Italy, Sunday, July 4, 2021. Since Feb. 16, 2021, Mt. Etna has begun a series of eruptive episodes. (Photo by Salvatore Allegra/AP Photo)
A Bengal tigress who gave birth to four cubs at the Guadalajara Zoo, Jalisco state, Mexico runs at the zoo on October 5, 2021. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz/AFP Photo)
Dario Sammartino, of Italy, competes at the final table during the World Series of Poker at the Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas Sunday, July 14, 2019. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP Photo)
Guardian of the Mangroves – Overall Winner. Tanya Houppermans, Cuba. A curious American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) swims right up to Tanya, at Gardens of the Queen (Jardines De La Reina), an archipelago off the coast of Cuba. It has been strictly protected since 1996, and is one of the most untouched marine ecosystems in the world. “The healthy population of American crocodiles is down to the pristine condition of the mangroves and I wanted to capture close ups of this gentle giant in its natural habitat. I hope this image can illustrate that protecting areas like this is so critical”. (Photo by Tanya Griffin Houppermans/Mangrove Photographer of the Year)
Indonesian mahouts clean their Sumatran elephant in a river near the zoo in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, 12 December 2014. According media reports, the smallest of the Asian elephants, Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatrensis) is facing serious pressures arising from illegal logging and associated habitat loss and fragmentation in Indonesia. The population has come under increasing threat from rapid forest conversion to plantations. (Photo by Dedi Sahputra/EPA)