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)

In this March 17, 2015 photo, Ashaninka Indian men, identified by locals as illegal loggers, tie tree trunks together to move them along the Putaya River near the hamlet of Saweto, Peru. Illegal logging persists unabated in this remote Amazon community where four indigenous leaders who resisted it were slain in September. The Putaya River is the waterway that transports felled trees, cut both legally and illegally, to the city of Pucallpa. (Photo by Martin Mejia/AP Photo)

Soldiers with the Afghan National Army (ANA) at an outpost in the Momand Valley on July 16, 2017 in Achin District, Afghanistan. The building was previously used as of a jail by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – Khorasan (ISIS-K) and was taken by Afghan Commandos nine days prior. Operations are currently underway to remove ISIS fighters from Nangarhar Province in Eastern Afghanistan. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)

A history enthusiast, dressed as a soldier, fights during the re-enactment of Napoleon's famous battle of Austerlitz near the southern Moravian town of Slavkov u Brna December 5, 2015. Hundreds of history enthusiasts gathered near the city of Slavkov before a re-enactment of Napoleon's famous battle of Austerlitz on Saturday to mark its 210th anniversary. (Photo by David W. Cerny/Reuters)

Anfisa, a twelve-year-old female chimpanzee, picks its nose at the Royev Ruchey Zoo in a suburb of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia on October 18, 2017. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Poland's Dawid Kubacki soars through the air during the men's FIS Ski Jumping World Cup competition in Engelberg, central Switzerland, on December 20, 2014. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

Participants wearing fantasy costumes attend the 4th Hero Festival in Marseille, France on November 11, 2017. The 4th Hero Festival edition has attracted all sorts of people to role play their favourite characters from all kinds of movies and comic book legends. (Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)

A young Chinese girl dressed in Christmas costume, hugs a pedestrian on a street to celebrate Christmas in Nanjing city, east China's Jiangsu province, 23 December 2015. (Photo by Imaginechina/Splash News)