A street merchant waits for customers in Niamey, Niger, Monday, August 14, 2023. Niger's mutinous soldiers say they will prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining state security. (Photo by Sam Mednick/AP Photo)

Brazil's team performs in the artistic swimming acrobatic routine final at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)

Dancers from The Royal Ballet perform beside the Regent's Canal in London on August 30, 2020, one of three performances they put on daily on weekends to experience performing in front of a live socially-distanced audience. (Photo by Isabel Infantes/AFP Photo)

Mother hen chicken with cute tiny baby chicks all protected beneath her wings keeping warm outdoors only their 12 legs visible poking out the bottom outside. (Photo by Matthew Troke/iStockphoto via Getty Images)

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)

Long-eared owl chicks sit on a spruce branch in a park near St Petersburg, Russia on March 3, 2025. (Photo by Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Manchester City's Ellen White reacts after a missed chance during the Women's UEFA Champions League match at the Academy Stadium in Manchester, United Kingdom on December 16, 2020. (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)

Scarlett Zelaya, 10, of Woodbridge, VA cools off under a water mister while visiting the Smithsonian National Zoological Park on Wednesday July 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)