Lightning streaks across the skies over the coastal port city of Batroun, some 43km north of the Lebanese capital Beirut on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Ibrahim Chalhoub/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)

A flock of sheep huddles together while snow spindrift is whipped up by strong winds in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, UK on March 17, 2017. (Photo by Paul Kingston/NNP North News & Pictures Ltd)

Contestants perform during the semifinals of the first Miss Colonia pageant hosted by the Factoría nightclub in Veracruz, Mexico, Sunday, March 5, 2023. The nightclub held the pageant as part of annual Women’s Day events and the only requirement for contestants was to prove residency in working-class areas of the city, known as “colonias”. Prizes originally covered utility bills and property taxes, but when the event attracted more sponsors the prizes expanded to include cash, travel, dental work, spas and makeovers. (Photo by Felix Marquez/AP Photo)

Farmer Tom Spilman harvests some of the 125,000 pumpkins at Spilman's Pumpkin Farm in Sessay, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, UK on Monday, September 25, 2023, ahead of the opening of Pumpkin Fest 2023 on Saturday. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

Participants gather during a traditional hunting contest, involving tamed golden eagles and hawks, in Almaty, Kazakhstan on December 1, 2018. (Photo by Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters)

People run along a street as rain caused by tropical storm Alberto, the first named storm of 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, falls, in Monterrey, Mexico. on June 19, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

Girls embrace in front of a makeshift memorial for victims by the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church following a shooting, in Nashville, Tennessee, March 28, 2023. A heavily armed former student killed three young children and three staff in what appeared to be a carefully planned attack at a private elementary school in Nashville on Monday, before being shot dead by police Chief of Police John Drake named the suspect as Audrey Hale, 28, who the officer later said identified as transgender. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP Photo)