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)

Children playing on Walled City rooftop in Hong Kong, 1989. The lack of formal governance in the Walled City led to challenges, but it also fostered a unique system of informal social order. (Photo by Greg Girard/The Guardian)

A sales woman of a fish shop shows king crabs to a customer and negotiates the price in Noryangjin Fish Market is seen on August 1, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. Noryangjin Fish Market was established in 1927 as Gyeongseong Susan in Jung-gu near Seoul Station and moved to its current location in 1971. (Photo by Shin Woong-jae/The Washington Post)

Azalea, whose Korean name is “Dalle”, a 19-year-old female chimpanzee, lights a cigarette at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it was re-opened in July, the chimpanzee smokes about a pack a day. They insist, however, that she doesn’t inhale. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

Citizens are enjoying the festival by shooting hot spring water guns at the Yuseong Hot Spring Festival held on Oncheon-ro in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon in the first decade of May 2025. (Photo by Shin Hyeon-jong)

American actress Logan Browning attends Cocktails with the SAG Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 16, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin aims a sniper rifle during a visit to the Patriot military exhibition center outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, September 19, 2018. Putin chaired a meeting that focused on new arms programs. (Photo by Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Photo)

A bride weeps in a mass wedding ceremony at the CheongShim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, South Korea, Wednesday, February 12, 2014. Some 2,500 South Korean and foreign couples exchanged or reaffirmed marriage vows in the Unification Church's mass wedding arranged by Hak Ja Han Moon, wife of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial founder of the Unification Church. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)