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 aircraft flies past sculptures of dinosaurs at the “Valley of Animals” park in Chandigarh, India on November 9, 2019. (Photo by Vijay Mathur/AFP Photo)

Mount Kilimanjaro looms behind an elephant at Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya, 2024. (Photo byYaron Schmid/YS Wildlife Photography/Solent News)

A mahout rides on an elephant in the city of Amritsar, India, 08 November 2015. Such elephants are often accompanied by their caretakers who ask for alms from people in the streets. (Photo by Raminder Pal Singh/EPA)

Children play a game as Myanmar celebrates its 72nd Independence Day in Yangon on January 4, 2020. The country is celebrating the 72nd anniversary of its declaration of independence from British colonial rule. (Photo by Sai Aung Main/AFP Photo)

Citizens are enjoying the festival by shooting hot spring water guns at the Yuseong Hot Spring Festival held on Oncheon-ro in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon in the first decade of May 2025. (Photo by Shin Hyeon-jong)

“Freedom”. After the 30 years banning import large motorcycle, in 2007, the Taiwan government reopened the import licensing of the motorcycle displacement over 550 cubic centimeter. Those large bikes, which were never seen before, were strange thought and treated unequally frequently. However, those adversity will not stop those enthusiastic bike riders from chasing the road of freedom. Photo location: Taiwan. (Photo and caption by 火花 羅/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Gunfire was brought to the steps of President Truman's Washington home, Blair House, as two assassins tried to kill the chief executive, November 1, 1950. One of the gunmen, Oscar Collazzo of New York, lay wounded at the bottom of Blair House's front steps after the president's police guard had finished their work, at the cost of one guards' life, Dec. 9, 1950. The second gunman was killed. (Photo by Harvey Georges/AP Photo)