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)

An Extinction Rebellion environmental activist couple getting married at an action site they are calling “The Beacon” on Westminster Bridge on October 7, 2019 in London, England. Primarily made up of London based activists the site is one of 12 situated around key Government locations in central London as actions are also predicted to occur in unto 70 cities around the world. The group aim to occupy the areas in central London for up to two weeks through non violent protest with an estimated 8 times as many people as their April protests which saw over 1,200 people arrested. (Photo by Ollie Millington/Getty Images)

A woman taking a nap on mangoes at city market area after the city eased the lockdown in Bangalore, India 12 July 2021. The Karnataka government eases in covid-19 related lockdown restrictions in the wake of lower coronavirus cases and positivity rate falling below 5% percent. The Karnataka state government administering record 2.5-crore doses till date since the vaccination drive was launched across the state on January 16, Karnataka ranked first in South India in inoculating maximum number of its eligible population, said state Health Minister K. Sudhakar. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA/EFE)

Law enforcement clashes with demonstrators outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, MDC, in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025. US President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 troops on June 7 to handle escalating protests against immigration enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area, a move the state's governor termed “purposefully inflammatory”. Federal agents clashed with angry crowds in a Los Angeles suburb as protests stretched into a second night Saturday, shooting flash-bang grenades and shutting part of a freeway amid raids on undocumented migrants, reports said. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP Photo)

A man dressed in Andean attire as “Ukukus” or “Pabluchas”, a traditional character that acts as a vigilante imposing social order, uses a whip as a threat to force people to maintain their distance and remind them to wear face masks and gloves as a preventive measure against the novel coronavirus COVID-19, in the Vinocanchon market area in San Jeronimo district, close to the Peruvian Andean city of Cusco, on May 2, 2020. The government has identified public markets as major hotspots of the new coronavirus in Peru, where 40,459 confirmed cases and 1,124 deaths were reported on May 1. (Photo by Jose Carlos Angulo/AFP Photo)

Volunteers wearing face masks, gloves and protective gear to protect against coronavirus, gather to clean an area of an outdoor book market set up at Red Square with GUM, State Department store, left, St. Basil's Cathedral, center, Spasskaya Tower, second with, and the Kremlin Wall, right, in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 6, 2020. Muscovites clad in face masks and gloves ventured into Red Square for an outdoor book market, a small sign of the Russian capital's gradual efforts to open up amid coronavirus concerns. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Jaison Vargas, crocodile tour guide, takes a picture of an American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) during a tour at the Tarcoles river, in Tarcoles, Garabito municipality, Costa Rica, on March 31, 2022. Crocodile tours in the estuary of the Tarcoles River are a popular attraction for visitors to Costa Rica's Pacific coast, as the area gets back on its feet after being shaken by the pandemic. The river is home to nearly 500 species of birds and some 2,000 American crocodiles, many of which have been named after famous people. (Photo by Luis Acosta/AFP Photo)

A girl looks on next to a damaged car buried in mud in an area heavily affected by torrential rains and flash floods in the village of Kamuchiri, near Mai Mahiu, on April 29, 2024. At least 45 people died when a dam burst its banks near a town in Kenya's Rift Valley, police said on April 29, 2024, as torrential rains and floods battered the country The disaster raises the total death toll over the March-May wet season in Kenya to more than 120 as heavier than usual rainfall pounds East Africa, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)