Lovely corner: Image of father crocodile carrying 100 baby crocodiles on his back

A wildlife photographer recently accidentally captured very unique photos of a crocodile father carrying more than 100 baby crocodiles on his back to cross the river.

According to PetaPixel, photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee is known for always on the hunt for never-before-seen images of endangered wildlife; and he accidentally achieved both goals at the same time when he came across an Indian crocodile protecting its cubs in an Indian wildlife reserve.

"I have to make it clear that I'm not an artist," Mukherjee said. 'The difference is whether the artist takes pictures of the wild to satisfy artistic ambitions or artistic goals. I take pictures to achieve my scientific goal - for conservation work'

 
Father crocodile carrying cubs on his back.

The photographer with 25 years of field experience, who rolls in nature for 300 days a year, visited India's National Chambal Sanctuary in June 2017, just southeast of New Delhi. full 200 miles.

His mission was to photograph the endangered Indian crocodile, with the majority of the population concentrated in the Chambal River inside the reserve. Mukherjee walked around this place for weeks until he met the right person one morning.

It's not just luck, says Mukherjee, but mainly thanks to a good relationship with experts in the area.

'I have a very good local network,' he said. 'I am constantly gathering information from indigenous peoples, scientists, naturalists, and forest officials. And this is not the first time I've been to the area. I've been here a few times. and keep coming back. Chambal is now home to most of the Indian crocodile population'

Crocodiles surround their father.

'It was a large adult male, 16-17 feet (4.88 - 5.18 meters) long, quite popular with forest officials, and had mated with 7-8 females. The children you see on her back come from many different offspring'

Crocodiles usually carry their young in their mouths, but the Indian alligator has a very narrow snout, making that impossible. Therefore, the baby crocodile must cling to its head and back, both for protection and to help the father-son relationship closer.

 
The Indian crocodile has a very narrow snout.

Mukherjee says that Indian crocodiles, including males, are very shy and often avoid humans. However, when males are sheltering cubs, they can be very aggressive and will take advantage of the opportunity to strike first if the photographer gets too close to the riverbank. Many of Mukherjee's photos taken that day were from a 70-200mm lens at a safe distance.

The Indian crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus) is a fish-eating member of the order Crocodilia, mainly living in rivers in India and Nepal, is one of the longest living crocodiles, possibly up to 20 feet (6.1 meters). True crocodiles, including the American alligator, the alligator, and the alligator, are members of this order.

At reproductive age, the male Indian alligator will grow a hollow lump at the tip of his nose.

Until they reach reproductive age (about 11 years old), male Indian crocodiles will grow a hollow lump at the tip of their nose, which looks like a terracotta vase called a 'ghara' - that's why crocodiles India's English name is Gharial. This udder allows the male to amplify the sound and emit a squeak that can be heard from more than 200 feet (61 meters) away.

These prehistoric freshwater beasts most likely first appeared in the Early Mesozoic (23-16 million years ago) in what is now India and Pakistan.

'The Indian crocodile is a critically endangered species. In the past few years, their number has increased. Several mating (and wild release) programs have been carried out in Chambal. That's why I chose it as a subject, so that it can be noticed by policy makers or interested people,' Mukherjee said.

 
The Indian crocodile mainly lives in the rivers of India and Nepal.

Only about 650 individuals (this number is from 2017 and is probably increasing now) live in the freshwater rivers of India and Nepal. The Indian crocodile population is estimated to have decreased from 5,000 - 10,000 in 1946 to less than 250 in 2006, which is a decrease of 96 - 98% in just 3 generations. However, measures such as breeding and releasing into the wild are gradually showing a hopeful future.

The cause of the decrease in the population of Indian crocodiles is because their habitat is reduced by dams that affect the flow of rivers. In addition, the sand on the riverbank is eroded, causing their nesting areas to be drastically reduced. And yet, the Indian crocodile species also faces the risk of being trapped in fishermen's fishing nets.

Mukherjee graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics, then completed a master's degree in ecology. However, office work was too boring for him, and he fell in love with photography from there.

His first camera was a Vivitar in 1997, but within 7 days he had "updated" the Pentax K1000 SLR, which is often recommended for photography students. He learned how to shoot for 2 years, then switched to Nikon cameras. He also uses Sony Alpha 1, Sony 600mm and other lenses from 2009.

 
Photographer Mukherjee.

Currently, Mukherjee specializes in wildlife photography in 40 countries. Although he has earned money from his passion, he said that 25 years of pursuing a career in photography has not always been filled with roses.

'I used to struggle to survive with photography. It was a difficult journey. With the money I earned from photography, I traveled all over India. I've been to 40 countries, taken a lot of underwater photos, have been ice diving in Antarctica, scuba diving in Greenland and Iceland, climbing volcanoes in Congo, and even diving with pythons, crocodiles, sharks, and fish killer elephants' - he proudly recounts.

He always shoots RAW images, chooses in Adobe Bridge, and it only takes 40 seconds to Photoshop the image.