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 Bengal tiger grabs a bag of food belonging to labourers at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur, India in the first decade of February 2024. The workers were cutting the grass to avoid forest fires in the area. The wild feline, watched on by its family, later dropped the bag without any harm caused. (Photo by Jignesh Patel/Solent news)

Members of the Iraqi Army fire towards Islamic State militant positions at the south of Mosul, Iraq December 10, 2016. (Photo by Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)

A Felix Airways plane is seen after it was destroyed by an airstrike at the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. Jets from a Saudi-led alliance destroyed the runway of Yemen's Sanaa airport on Tuesday to prevent an Iranian plane from landing there, Saudi Arabia said, as fighting across the country killed at least 30 people. Airport officials said the strikes set a civilian aircraft operated by Yemeni Felix Airways ablaze. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

A boy holds a rifle as he sits at the site of a rally held by followers of the Shi'ite Houthi movement to commemorate the Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, in Sanaa, Yemen on August 30, 2020. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

Palestinian plain-clothed security officers detain a man during a demonstration in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on June 26, 2021, to protest the death of human rights activist Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces. Thousands of mourners attended on June 25 the funeral of the 43-year-old Banat, a day after he died in custody following his violent arrest by Palestinian security forces, which sparked outrage in the occupied West Bank. He was known for social media videos denouncing alleged corruption within the PA. (Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP Photo)

A Palestinian boy stands next to a damaged car following an Israeli raid in Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on October 20, 2023. (Photo by Raneen Sawafta/Reuters)

Palestinians sit in a fishing boat loaded into a horse cart as they pass on a street in the northern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2022. (Photo by Suhaib Salem/Reuters)