A laborer is transporting used oil durms by a hand-pulled vehicle near Buriganga River in Dhaka on June 12, 2021. (Photo by Md Rakibul Hasan/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Medical staff administering the dose of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine at the M A G Osmani Medical College & Hospital vaccination center in Sylhet, Bangladesh on July 26, 2021. (Photo by Md Rafayat Haque Khan/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A hiker admires the view as Mt. Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, erupts in the background, in the Bove Valley of Etna Park, on the eastern slope of Mt. Etna, in Sicily, southern Italy, Sunday, July 4, 2021. Since Feb. 16, 2021, Mt. Etna has begun a series of eruptive episodes. (Photo by Salvatore Allegra/AP Photo)

A Bengal tigress who gave birth to four cubs at the Guadalajara Zoo, Jalisco state, Mexico runs at the zoo on October 5, 2021. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz/AFP Photo)

A customer plays “Red Light, Green Light” game from the Netflix show “Squid Game” at Strawberry Cafe in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 15, 2021. (Photo by Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters)

A man distributes bread to Burka-wearing Afghan women outside a bakery in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, December 2, 2021. According to U.N. figures from early November, almost 24 million people in Afghanistan, around 60% percent of the population, suffer from acute hunger, including 8.7 million living in near famine. Increasing numbers of malnourished children have filled hospital wards. (Photo by Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo)

A woman drives a scooter with her dog in Hanoi on December 10, 2021, as Vietnamese officials in the central city of Hoi An announced it was set to be the country's first dog and cat meat free city. (Photo by Nhac Nguyen/AFP Photo)

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)