{"id":95597,"date":"2025-07-27T02:19:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T02:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/95597\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T02:19:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T02:19:19","slug":"gigantic-crocodile-among-20-astonishing-images-from-mangrove-photography-awards-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/95597\/","title":{"rendered":"Gigantic crocodile among 20 astonishing images from Mangrove Photography Awards 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

The winning images from the Mangrove Photography Awards 2025<\/a> have just been announced.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The spectacular selection of photographs showcases the rich biodiversity of mangrove forests, whilst highlighting the importance of conserving this precious habitat for the health of our planet, its wildlife and future generations.<\/p>\n

Here are some of our favourite shots from the competition.<\/p>\n

Mangrove Photography Awards 2025
\nMangrove Photographer of the Year, Overall Winner – Mark Ian Cook, Bird’s-Eye View of the Hunt
\n\"ACook’s overall winning image, awarding him Mangrove Photographer of the Year, captures a flock of roseate spoonbills gliding over a lemon shark hunting mullet in the shallow, mangrove-lined waters of Florida Bay. Historically, Florida Bay was the primary nestling region of the roseate spoonbill in the US, but this species is becoming increasingly rare there as sea level rise negatively impacts their important mangrove foraging habitat. – Photo Credit: Mark Ian Cook \/ Mangrove Photography Awards<\/p>\n

Birds Category Winner – Mark Ian Cook, Avian Impressionism
\n\"Blue-wingedBlue-winged teal create ephemeral artwork as they dabble for food in the chai-coloured shallows of Florida Bay. The odd yellow colour is entirely natural and is a consequence of the mangroves lining the bay; the first flush of freshwater from the Everglades gains this rich, whiskey hue as it passes through the swamp and extracts the tannins leached from decaying mangrove leaves. The migrating teal are feeding just downstream of the mangroves, filtering high densities of algae and other microorganisms from the shallow edge of the bay. – Photo Credit: Mark Ian Cook \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nBirds Category, Highly Commended – Mark Ian Cook, Pyramid of Scaup
\n\"aPrior to drainage of the southern Everglades in the 1940s, these lakes were slightly brackish, crystal clear and supported dense beds of aquatic vegetation, which in turn supported an abundance of animal life, including hundreds of thousands of migrating and wintering waterfowl. As the flow of the water from the north were curtailed by human activities, the salinity of the lakes increased considerably, the aquatic vegetation largely died off, and increased sedimentation and nutrients reduced the clarity of the water and the ability for the vegetation to recover. With the loss of the vegetation and the rich diversity of prey animals it supported, the waterfowl vanished from this part of the world. But with increased volumes of freshwater flowing south last year because of the El Ni\u00f1o conditions, as well as recent restoration activities that allow more water to flow to this part of the Everglades, the coastal lakes have been recovering, and for the first time in 80 years have attracted tens of thousands of waterfowl. – Photo Credit: Mark Ian Cook \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nBirds Category, Highly Commended – Nicholas Hess, Patience
\n\"SplitA Pacific reef heron hunts a school of fish from a mangrove branch in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. – Photo Credit: Nicholas Hess \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nMammals Category Winner – Satwika Satria, A Snack in the Mangrove Forest
\n\"AA young proboscis monkey enjoys an avicennia fruit amidst the dense mangrove forest. The avicennia fruit is one of the primary food sources for proboscis monkeys. – Photo Credit: Satwika Satria \/ Mangrove Photography Awards<\/p>\n

Mammals Category, Highly Commended – Kaushik Ghosh, Flower of Mangrove
\n\"TigerAfter hours of tracking through the mangroves, this elusive tiger finally revealed itself in the afternoon \u2013 emerging beneath the Hental tree, like a blossom unfolding in the wild. A perfect harmony of predator and habitat. – Photo Credit: Kaushik Ghosh \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nMammals Category, Highly Commended – Satyaki Naha, Mother’s Protection
\n\"Jungle“‘Mother’ is a word that needs no separate definition,” says Naha. “The word ‘mother is formed with the pronunciation ‘m’, which is present in all languages like Maa\/Amma etc. Even in the sound of various animals calling their mother, the influence of ‘m’ can be seen.”
\nOther Species Category Winner – Christian M\u00f8ldrup Legaard, Night in the Mangrove
\n\"aThe dance of a colony of fireflies painting trails of light across a mangrove apple tree in the dark, captured here by a long exposure. The trails gathering around this particular tree shows the fireflies\u2019 affinity for the particular tree \u2013 with only a few individuals venturing away briefly before turning back. – Photo Credit: Christian M\u00f8ldrup Legaard \/ Mangrove Photography Awards<\/p>\n

Other Species Category Runner Up – Javier Aznar Gonz\u00e1lez De Rueda, Claws of Power
\n\"AA male fiddler crab (Uca sp.) performing a signal dance in the mud at sunset. During courtship, males wave their enlarged claw and produce sounds to attract females. This behaviour is more intense at night and can involve synchronous waving with other males. – Photo Credit: Javier Aznar Gonz\u00e1lez De Rueda \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nOther Species Category, Highly Commended – Ramprasad Dutta, The Watcher and the Wanderer
\n\"CloseIn the Sundarbans, a massive crocodile rests near a tiny mudskipper. Despite the size difference, the fish shows no fear. Their contrasting colors create a rare, captivating moment in the wild. – Photo Credit: Ramprasad Dutta \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nOther Species Category, Highly Commended – Vydehi Kadur, Tidewalker
\n\"aAmid the tangle of mangrove roots on Havelock Island in the Andaman archipelago, India, a mudskipper (Periophthalmus sp.) rests between the arching roots of a Rhizophora mangrove tree. Perfectly adapted to an amphibious life, mudskippers use their pectoral fins to ‘walk’ on land, while their protruding eyes scan both sky and water for predators. Thriving at the edge of two worlds, these remarkable fish are synonymous with the mangrove ecosystem. – Photo Credit: Vydehi Kadur \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nYoung Mangrove Photographer of the Year Winner – Nicholas Hess, Crocodile Galaxy
\n\"AIn this image, Hess captures a pair of American crocodiles sitting beneath the Milky Way in a mangrove forest in the Florida Everglades. – Photo Credit: Nicholas Hess \/ Mangrove Photography Awards<\/p>\n

Underwater Category Winner – Alex Pike, Low Tide on Hermit Crab Island
\n\"SplitClibanarius taeniatus, one of Australia’s most common hermit crab species, pictured just below the waters surface. – Photo Credit: Alex Pike \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nUnderwater Category, Highly Commended – Valentina Cucchiara, Sunset Snack
\n\"AHighly commended in the Underwater categoty is Cucchiara’s image of a gentle manatee grazing beneath the roots of a mangrove forest. – Photo Credit: Valentina Cucchiara \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nUnderwater Category Runner Up – Renee Capozzola, Netted Sulawesi Scene
\n\"SplitThis split-level shot taken in the shallow mangroves around Bangka Island in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, shows remnants of ghost nets above with cardinal fish below the water’s surface. – Photo Credit: Renee Capozzola \/ Mangrove Photography Awards<\/p>\n

Underwater Category, Highly Commended – Kiliii Yuyan, Blacktip Reef Shark in the Mangroves
\n\"SplitJuvenile blacktip reef sharks cruise in the shallows under the mangroves in a portion of Palau’s Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At this site, known as shark city, tour operators will throw their leftover lunches for the sharks to eat, bringing them close for tourists to enjoy. Sharks are protected in Palau – it was the first nation to declare itself a shark sanctuary. Palau’s Marine Protected area is one of the largest on Earth. – Photo Credit: Kiliii Yuyan \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\nPortfolio Category, Highly Commended – Humberto Bahena Basave, Manatee Sanctuary
\n\"aerialChetumal Bay, located in southeastern Mexico, was designated a protected natural area for manatee conservation in 1996, due to the significant importance of this species along the coasts of Quintana Roo. – Photo Credit: Humberto Bahena Basave \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\n\"AStudies, using satellite tagging of male manatees, have shown that these individuals frequently enter the lagoon system in search of females for mating \u2013 weeks later, the same males were found over 200 kilometres away in another lagoon system located south of Belize City, pursuing the same objective. In this way, Mexico and Belize are connected through the reproductive dynamics of this species. – Photo Credit: Humberto Bahena Basave \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\n\"ManateeThe bay provides favourable conditions for manatees, including abundant submerged vegetation on which they feed, extensive shallow waters, and various sources of freshwater. – Photo Credit: Humberto Bahena Basave \/ Mangrove Photography Awards
\n\"UnderwaterAs a result of human impacts, the team have encountered manatees entangled in fishing lines and have promptly conducted rescues. – Photo Credit: Humberto Bahena Basave \/ Mangrove Photography Awards<\/p>\n

Top image: The Watcher and the Wanderer. Credit: Ramprasad Dutta, Mangrove Photography Awards<\/p>\n

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