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.
Here are some of our favourite shots from the competition.
Mangrove Photography Awards 2025
Mangrove Photographer of the Year, Overall Winner - Mark Ian Cook, Bird's-Eye View of the Hunt
Cook'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
Birds Category Winner - Mark Ian Cook, Avian Impressionism
Blue-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
Birds Category, Highly Commended - Mark Ian Cook, Pyramid of Scaup
Prior 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 Niño 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
Birds Category, Highly Commended - Nicholas Hess, Patience
A Pacific reef heron hunts a school of fish from a mangrove branch in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. - Photo Credit: Nicholas Hess / Mangrove Photography Awards
Mammals Category Winner - Satwika Satria, A Snack in the Mangrove Forest
A 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
Mammals Category, Highly Commended - Kaushik Ghosh, Flower of Mangrove
After hours of tracking through the mangroves, this elusive tiger finally revealed itself in the afternoon – 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
"'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."
Other Species Category Winner - Christian Møldrup Legaard, Night in the Mangrove
The 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’ affinity for the particular tree – with only a few individuals venturing away briefly before turning back. - Photo Credit: Christian Møldrup Legaard / Mangrove Photography Awards
Other Species Category Runner Up - Javier Aznar González De Rueda, Claws of Power
A 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 González De Rueda / Mangrove Photography Awards
Other Species Category, Highly Commended - Ramprasad Dutta, The Watcher and the Wanderer
In 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
Other Species Category, Highly Commended - Vydehi Kadur, Tidewalker
Amid 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
Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year Winner - Nicholas Hess, Crocodile Galaxy
In 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
Underwater Category Winner - Alex Pike, Low Tide on Hermit Crab Island
Clibanarius taeniatus, one of Australia's most common hermit crab species, pictured just below the waters surface. - Photo Credit: Alex Pike / Mangrove Photography Awards
Highly 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
Underwater Category Runner Up - Renee Capozzola, Netted Sulawesi Scene
This 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
Underwater Category, Highly Commended - Kiliii Yuyan, Blacktip Reef Shark in the Mangroves
Juvenile 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
Chetumal 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 AwardsStudies, using satellite tagging of male manatees, have shown that these individuals frequently enter the lagoon system in search of females for mating – 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 AwardsThe 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 AwardsAs 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
Top image: The Watcher and the Wanderer. Credit: Ramprasad Dutta, Mangrove Photography Awards
Picture researcher across BBC Science Focus, BBC Countryfile and BBC Wildlife
Lily is the picture researcher across BBC Science Focus, BBC Countryfile and BBC Wildlife. She holds a degree in Photojournalism, where she specialised in social documentary reportage. Her photographic work has been shortlisted for the BarTur Photo Award’s Unity in Diversity category and exhibited internationally as part of the Urban Photo Awards. Before joining the team, she worked on freelance projects and as a product specialist for leading camera brands.
