A man walks near a artwork of Italian artist Dario Agrimi entitled “ascesa” during a press preview of the first edition of “Roma Arte in Nuvola”, the international fair of modern and contemporary art in Rome on November 18, 2021 at the Roma Convention Center “La Nuvola”. (Photo by Tiziana Fabi/AFP 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)

Visitors at the National Zoo check out a parrotfish made from found waste from the ocean in Washington, DC on May 23, 2016. The artwork can be seen at the National Zoo until September 5th. (Photo by Keith Lane/The Washington Post)

The fourth annual BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition aims to celebrate the diversity of life on Earth, and encourages people to protect and conserve it. Here: “The Salmon Catchers”. Terrestrial Wildlife. To capture this view of a mother grizzly bear and her cub, photographer Peter Mather set up a camera trap on a log that he knew the bears tended to traverse while fishing for salmon, in the Yukon River watershed in Canada. (Photo by Peter Mather/BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition 2017)

“What created this unusual hole in Mars? The hole was discovered by chance on images of the dusty slopes of Mars' Pavonis Mons volcano taken by the HiRISE instrument aboard the robotic Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter currently circling Mars”. (Photo by NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

A priest sprinkles holy water at a cat at a drive-through pet blessing, ahead of World Animal Day, at a mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 2, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

A red squirrel sniffs out nuts inside Christmas stockings as part of the festive celebrations and enrichment programme at Wildwood Escot Park in Ottery St Mary, Devon, United Kingdom on December 17, 2020. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)

Spectators pose for a photo upon entry for Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse on October 30, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. Victoria's COVID-19 restrictions have eased to allow spectators to return to Flemington racecourse for the first time since 2019. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)