All the stunning winners in the World Nature Photography Awards

The shot was chosen out of thousands of entries from 45 different countries across 6 continents.

“I had to be very careful not to disturb the crocodile, even though it was buried in dry mud,” Cullmann explained in a press release. “They will launch themselves with tremendous speed and power at any animal foolish enough to come too close.” The result of Cullmann’s efforts is a striking image that provides a unique perspective on these ancient predators.

The World Nature Photography Awards strives to influence positive change for wild species and spaces through powerful imagery that encourages us to question our relationship with the natural world.

“We congratulate all our winners and offer our deepest thanks for capturing such spectacular images of our precious planet,” said Adrian Dinsdale, cofounder of the WNPAs. “Once again, we hope it provides great motivation to us all to do everything we can to protect the Earth for future generations.”

Gold winner, Animals in their habitatSnow leopard, Indian Himalayas© Sascha Fonseca/World Nature Photography AwardsSilver winner, Animals in their habitatLeopard, Kenya© Thomas Vijayan/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Behaviour – Amphibians and reptilesJapanese stream toad, Owase Mountains, Mie, Japan© Norihiro Ikuma/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Behaviour – BirdsMale hooded merganser, Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, VA, USA© Charles Schmidt/World Nature Photography AwardsSilver winner, Behaviour – BirdsRed-billed oxpecker, Zimanga, South Africa© Tamas Aranyossy/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Behaviour – InvertebratesRed crab (Grapsus adscensionis) La Gomera Island, Spain© Javier Herranz Casellas/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Behaviour – MammalsJapanese macaques, Awaji Island, Japan© Hidetoshi Ogata/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Black and whiteLesser Antillean iguana, Grenada Island, West Indies© Alain Ernoult/World Nature Photography AwardsSilver winner, Black and whiteWildebeest Mara river crossing, Kenya© Artur Stankiewicz/World Nature Photography AwardsBronze winner, Animal portraitsSeaweed blenny, Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach, Florida, USA© Andre Johnson/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Nature artSpawning coral, Red Sea© Tom Shlesinger/World Nature Photography AwardsBronze winner, Nature artFlamingos, Lake Magadi, Kenya© Silke Hullmann/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Nature photojournalismAustralian fur seal Port Kembla, NSW, Australia© Nicolas Remy/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, People and natureInside a glacier, Solheimajokull, South Iceland© Virgil Reglioni/World Nature Photography AwardsSilver winner, People and natureSeal, Island of Dune, near Helgoland, Germany© Alex Pansier/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Planet Earth’s landscapes and environmentsGrand Teton Peak, Wyoming, USA© Jake Mosher/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Plants and fungiEucalyptus, Mount Barker, Western Australia© Julie Kenny/World Nature Photography AwardsSilver winner, Plants and fungiCrepidotus fungus, Windsor Nature Park, Singapore© Mr. Endy./World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, UnderwaterHarlequin shrimps Hymanocera, Lembeh strait, Indonesia© Adriano Morettin/World Nature Photography AwardsGold winner, Urban wildlifeCommon kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Stara Zagora, Bulgaria© Vladislav Tasev/World Nature Photography AwardsSilver winner, Urban wildlifeBuffy Fish Owl (Ketupa Ketupu), Singapore© Partha Roy/World Nature Photography Awards