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)

Catholic faithful attend a Palm Sunday mass at the start of Holy Week in San Lorenzo, Paraguay, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (Photo by Jorge Saenz/AP Photo)

An Israeli girl in costume, celebrates the Jewish festival of Purim on March 5, 2004, in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Festival commemorates the rescue of Jews from genocide in ancient Persia.

A Thai visitor appears to be frightened by a life-size Velociraptor model also known as Raptor at the Dinosaur Planet theme park in Bangkok, Thailand, 25 March 2016. The 500 million baht (14 million US dollars or 12 million euro) theme park opening in the Thai capital aimed to attract more than 15,000 visitors a day featuring a chance to experience more than 200 dinosaurs from various species that are brought back to life. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)

Actress Frederique Bel attends the Opening ceremony and the “Grace of Monaco” Premiere during the 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2014 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Two men try to load their just purchased Samsung 55" TV into a car, at a Best Buy store in Fairfax, Virginia on November 26, 2015, on a Black Friday sale that started a day earlier during Thanksgiving evening. The US holiday shopping season kicks off with "Black Friday" – the day after the Thanksgiving holiday – with a frenzy expected at stores around the country as retailers slash prices. (Photo by Paul J. Richards/AFP Photo)

During a jungle survival program February 20, 2013 taught by Royal Thai Special Forces in Sannapit, Thailand, U.S. Marines learned to catch cobras and drink their fresh blood, not to mention eat forest insects and pull the heads off of chicken. The training was part of Operation Cobra Gold 13, the 32nd edition of international military exercises hosted by the Thai. According to a U.S. Marines press release, Cobra Gold is the largest exercise of its kind in Asia and incorporates troops from five other nations in addition to the U.S. and Thailand. The Daily Mail reports that the Marines were invited to experience the local custom of drinking cobra blood after being taught to catch and kill cobras in the wild. As CNN notes, Cobra blood is believed to be a panacea and aphrodiasic in parts of Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, vendors can earn over $100 a night selling shots of cobra blood mixed with liquor. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)

Nikolai Vasilyev, 64, dressed as Father Frost, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, water-skis along the Yenisei River outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia December 19, 2017. Vasilyev, former teacher of the Siberian State Aerospace University, constructed the water skis out of plastic foam and designed the sticks to propel him forward, while travelling on the water surface. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)