[LOOK] World Nature Photography Awards Features the Best, Most Fascinating Wildlife Captures

The third annual World Nature Photography Awards (WNPA) has crowned its winners and this year featured some of the craziest and most fascinating snapshots in the wildlife realm.

An image of a scary-looking crocodile with a piercing yellow eye took home the top honors but the rest did not disappoint as well as they feature glimpses into the world of animals.

This London-based, entirely independent competition aims to inspire everyone to consider many viewpoints and alter their own actions and choices for the sake of the environment and other living things.

For each of the thousands of entries it receives, the World Nature Photography Awards team plants a tree.

"This year's winners continue to remind us that in protecting our home and all its inhabitants, we are protecting our own future," WNPA wrote on its website.

Let us take a look at the winners and awardees of the competition:

Danger in the Mud

The overall World Nature Photographer of the Year is Germany's Jens Cullman for the image "Danger in the Mud."

"This photograph is the result of my staking out the largest pool in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe, at a time when an extended drought had reduced the pool to rapidly-drying mud. I had to be very careful not to disturb the crocodile, even though it was buried in dry mud. They will launch themselves with tremendous speed and power at any animal foolish enough to come too close," Cullmann said in a statement with WNPA.

Monkeys in a Huddle

Three pairs of monkeys have formed a huddle after grooming in this picture, which documents a rare occurrence during the lactation season. The majority of Awaji monkeys are not hostile, and when they are raising their young, moms form independent communities without social stratification, according to WNPA.

Hidetoshi Ogata from Japan captured this photo and bagged the gold medal for the "Behaviour - Mammals" category.

Spawning Time for Stream Toads

The "Japanese stream toad" inhabits the Owase Mountains in the Mie Prefecture of Japan and only descends to the river to spawn. This image was captured by Norihiro Ikuma and took the gold medal for the "Behaviour - Amphibians and reptiles" category.

A Fish-eating Duck Takes Off

A male Hooded Merganser soars toward the photographer in a direct line of flight. When ducks are getting ready to dive, they frequently start swimming more quickly.

"I saw that they began to swim more quickly and thus was prepared to catch them taking off. I was lucky that they headed directly towards me!" said Charles Schmidt from the USA, winner of the "Behaviour - Birds" category.

A Domineering Red Crab

A thin layer of water made by the sea waves surrounds a red crab (Grapsus adscensionis) as it strikes the rocks in quest of the tiny crustaceans and plants it consumes. This image was taken by Javier Herranz Casellas from Spain, who won the "Behaviour - Invertebrates" category.

Grasshopper Eats

Takuya Ishiguro snapped this wild encounter between what appears to be a grasshopper and a lizard. Ishiguro won the silver award for the "Behaviour - Invertebrates" category.

You can look at the full list of winners and awardees at WNPA's website.