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Close-Up Crocodile Photo Wins the 2022 Mangrove Photography Awards

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2 years ago

November 3, 2022

The winners of the 2022 Mangrove Photography Awards have been announced with a close-up portrait of an American crocodile in Cuba taking being crowned the overall winner.

Tanya Houpperman had a close encounter with the crocodile among luscious mangroves at Gardens of the Queen, a protected archipelago off the coast of Cuba.

“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,” says Houpperman.

bees — *Honey Hunters* Winner of the Mangroves and Humans category | Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman, Bangladesh

vietnam — *Living in a White Mangrove* Runner up in the Mangroves and Humans category | Alex Cao, Vietnam

trees — *Walakiri Dancing Trees* Winner of the Mangroves and Landscape category | Loic Dupuis, Indonesia

aerial — *Dreamlike of Mangroves* Runner up in the Mangroves and Landscape category | Melodia Roberts, United States

The Mangrove Photography Awards, run by the Mangrove Action Project, is in its eighth year. Over 2,000 images were submitted from 68 countries.

Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in coastal intertidal zones. The trees grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate. Mangrove forests only grow in tropical zones.

bird — *Take Off* Winner of the Mangroves and Wildlife category | Jayakuma MN, UAE

birds — *Colhereiro* Runner up in the Mangroves and Wildlife category | Priscila Forgone, Brazil

crab — *Blue Crab* Winner of the Mangroves and Underwater category | Martin Broen, Mexico

shark — *At the Edge* Runner up in the Mangroves and Underwater category | Jillian E Morris, Bahamas

“The photos are a compelling reminder of the importance of mangroves for the diversity of life across our coastlines as photographers captured unique relationships and moments from mangrove ecosystems both above and below the water line,” writes the Mangrove Action Project.

“The Mangrove Photography Awards has become a platform to intrigue people about the magnificent ecological role mangroves play in all of our lives”, adds judge Dhritiman Mukherjee.