https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53972571
DHRITIMAN MUKHERJEE/WPY/NHM
A father's pride: Hatchlings cling to a male gharial's back in India's National Chambal Sanctuary
How many crocodiles can you count in this picture? One hundred, maybe?
You're forgiven for doing a double-take because you don't immediately register that this male gharial croc's back is entirely covered by its young.
The image was captured by expert photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee. His shot, snapped in India's National Chambal Sanctuary, is highly commended in this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) competition.
Every one of these youngsters needs to survive into adulthood and to breed.
The freshwater gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is critically endangered. Where once it could have numbered more than 20,000 animals across South Asia, the species is now down to perhaps less than 1,000 mature individuals - and three-quarters of these are concentrated in the Uttar Pradesh sanctuary.
"This male had mated with seven or eight females, and you can see that it was very much involved," explained Dhritiman. "Normally the gharial is quite a shy crocodile compared with the saltwater and marsh crocs. But this one was very protective and if I got too close, it would charge me. It could be very aggressive," he told BBC News.
The male gharial sports a fabulous bulge on the end of its snout that is reminiscent of a round earthenware pot, or "ghara" in the Hindi language.
"It's a structure that enables vocal sounds to be amplified," said Patrick Campbell, the senior curator of reptiles at London's Natural History Museum, which runs the prestigious WPY competition.
"Other crocs carry their young about in their mouths. Very carefully, of course! But for the gharial, the unusual morphology of the snout means this is not possible. So the young have to cling to the head and back for that close connection and protection."
How many crocodiles can you count in this picture? One hundred, maybe?
You're forgiven for doing a double-take because you don't immediately register that this male gharial croc's back is entirely covered by its young.
The image was captured by expert photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee. His shot, snapped in India's National Chambal Sanctuary, is highly commended in this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) competition.
Every one of these youngsters needs to survive into adulthood and to breed.
The freshwater gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is critically endangered. Where once it could have numbered more than 20,000 animals across South Asia, the species is now down to perhaps less than 1,000 mature individuals - and three-quarters of these are concentrated in the Uttar Pradesh sanctuary.
"This male had mated with seven or eight females, and you can see that it was very much involved," explained Dhritiman. "Normally the gharial is quite a shy crocodile compared with the saltwater and marsh crocs. But this one was very protective and if I got too close, it would charge me. It could be very aggressive," he told BBC News.
The male gharial sports a fabulous bulge on the end of its snout that is reminiscent of a round earthenware pot, or "ghara" in the Hindi language.
"It's a structure that enables vocal sounds to be amplified," said Patrick Campbell, the senior curator of reptiles at London's Natural History Museum, which runs the prestigious WPY competition.
"Other crocs carry their young about in their mouths. Very carefully, of course! But for the gharial, the unusual morphology of the snout means this is not possible. So the young have to cling to the head and back for that close connection and protection."
DHRITIMAN MUKHERJEEI
Another view from the sequence of images taken by Dhritiman Mukherjee
For more of this post and pics go to :https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53972571
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