Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 620 miles (1,000 km) from the South American continent, these 19 islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique “living museum and showcase of evolution”. Photo: “Close-up. We had a juvenile Red-Footed Booby come visit us on the sun deck. I got some closeups with my ultrawide 11-16mm Tokina”. (Photo by Carl Fredrickson)

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)

Stunning image capture the moment a tiny harvest mouse uses wheat stems as stilts as he munches on a kernel in UK in August 2025. The minute-mouse, who weighs as much as a 2p coin and is only two-inches-long, uses his prehensile tail to keep himself perfectly level. (Photo by Tony Nellis/South West News Service)

Seals on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 on the Farne Islands during the annual census of pup numbers at one of England's largest grey seal colonies. The islands, off the Northumberland coast, is an important haven for thousands of seabirds and hundreds of adult seals, and are looked after by the National Trust. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

Women play soccer as the Tungurahua volcano spews a column of ash during an eruption in Huambalo, Ecuador, Saturday, March 5, 2016. Tungurahua is 16,480 feet (5,023 meters) high and has been active since 1999. (Photo by Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo)

Undated handout photo issued by Guinness World Records of Fabio Reggiani from Italy who has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for constructing the worlds largest rideable motorcycle measuring 5.10 meters (16ft 8.78 in) from the ground to the top of the handlebars. Six times larger than a normal motorcycle, it's 10.03 m long, 2.5 m wide, and weighs approximately 5,000 kg (5 tonnes). (Photo by Guinness World Records/PA Wire)

Yang Shiguang, 77, performs stunts at a park in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, September 3, 2013. Yang has been a member of a stunt performance club since 2007, after retiring from a research institution. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

“Slow”. A calm cow in the messy streets of Jodhpur. Photo location: India. (Photo and caption by Matthias Troeger/National Geographic Photo Contest)