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)

Icelandic stallions eat hay from a box at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

A hyena stands chained to its handler at a circus in Gabasawa, Kano State, Nigeria, July 27, 2021. Hyenas are often viewed as repulsive and sinister, partly due to their scavenging habits in the wild, but in northern Nigeria some men keep the creatures in their homes, display them at festivals and even use their dung to make remedies. (Photo by Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

Dramatic photos show the measure of a man in contrast to the enormity of nature.
A series of photos from the Humboldt State University Library capture lumberjacks working among the redwoods in Humboldt County, California.
The photos are part of the Ericson Collection....

SEE ALSO: «Huge Plants» AND «Loggers»

A fire engine drives away from flames on the ridge, east of Silverwood Lake in Crestline, Calif., Sunday, August 7, 2016. (Photo by Terry Peirson/The Press-Enterprise via AP Photo)

Team members pose during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, on August 8, 2021 at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Reuters)

A hillside erupts in flame as a raging wildfire fire burns in Placerita Canyon in Santa Clarita, Calif., Monday, July 25, 2016. A raging wildfire that forced thousands from their homes on the edge of Los Angeles continued to burn out of control Monday as frustrated fire officials said residents reluctant to heed evacuation orders made conditions more dangerous and destructive for their neighbors. (Photo by Nick Ut/AP Photo)

A radiation monitor indicates 114.00 microsieverts per hour near the building housing the plant's No. 4 reactor, center, and an under construction foundation, right, which will store the reactor's melted fuel rods at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Wednesday, March 6, 2013, ahead of the second anniversary of the March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake. Some 110,000 people living around the nuclear plant were evacuated after the massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plant's power and cooling systems, causing meltdowns in three reactors and spewing radiation into the surrounding air, soil and water. (Photo by Issei Kato/AP Photo/Pool)