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)

A visitor views “Giant Pumpkin, no1” by British artist Anthea Hamilton during the Frieze Art Fair in Regents Park in London on October 12, 2022. The fair is open to the public 14–18 October. (Photo by Guy Bell/Alamy Live News)

Racegoers shelter from the rain as they attend on the second day of the Grand National Festival horse race meeting at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, north-west England, on April 14, 2023. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

A man wearing a headgear walks along with his child on a street in Banda Aceh on July 25, 2023. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

Rikkie Valerie Kolle, a transgender woman who was crowned Miss Netherlands, puts on her makeup in Voorthuizen, Netherlands on July 12, 2023. (Photo by Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)

This photo taken on September 1, 2023 shows a one-day-old female Sumatran elephant by her 41-year-old mother elephant named Lisa at the Elephant Flying Squad camp in the Tesso Nilo National Park in Pelalawan, Sumatra. (Photo by Wahyudi/AFP Photo)

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)

A Palestinian woman is assisted at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 30, 2023. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)