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)

This hazel dormouse is being given a once-over by a disease risk team at ZSL London Zoo, UK in May 2025, as part of reintroduction programme. (Photo by David Levene/The Guardian)

Opossums on their mothers back at a game reserve in Central Minnesota, USA, on September 2, 2013. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

Rocky the cat's recovery from a nerve condition in his legs is coming along swimmingly – thanks to regular hydrotherapy sessions at a 20ft-long swimming pool in United Kingdom in the second decade of March 2022. The two-year-old wears a life vest to help keep him afloat and needs a plastic toy to lure him from one end of the pool to the other. (Photo by Max Willcock/BNPS Press Agency)

David Bowie, 1974. David Bowie's quirky character and style was perfectly encapsulated in this shot by Terry O'Neill, which shows the music legend posing next to a barking dog on the artwork for his 1974 album “Diamond Dogs” in London. (Photo by Terry O'Neill)

Rita Ora leaving her hotel to go to BBC Children in need on November 07, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Mark R. Milan/GC Images)

Young people wearing no pants participate in the “No Pants Subway Ride” in New York City, 13 January 2019. No Pants Subway Ride is an annual global event started in New York, USA in 2002. (Photo by William Volcov/ZUMA Press)

Italian movie star Gina Lollobrigida shows a 0.95 super-grand-angle lens mount on a 35mm camera, as she presents her collection of photographic equipment at her home on the ancient Appian Way on the outskirts of Rome, July 2, 1964. (Photo by Girolamo di Majo/AP Photo)