Indian wildlife and conservation photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee has devoted his life to the protection of animals.
It’s not surprising that he has experienced his fair share of incredible moments after spending 20 years and 280 days of the year in the field.
The amazing image of a threatened crocodile seen carrying his young through the water is our favorite.
This is a male gharial crocodile, the largest kind of crocodile still alive. Since the 1930s, the population of an ancient species that was first depicted over 4,000 years ago has been drastically dwindling.
This makes the picture even more spectacular because the father is undoubtedly contributing to the population growth who is just under 1,000
Mukherjee says that this male had mated with seven or eight females and you can tell that it was extremely highly involved.
In contrast to saltwater and marsh crocodiles, the gharial is often a quite timid animal. However, this one was highly defensive and would charge you if you came too close. It could be really hostile.
Crocodiles frequently carry their babies, however they typically do so with their mouths. This wouldn’t be possible due to the gharial’s peculiarly shaped nose, therefore they use other methods, as you can see.
Here is a selection of further pictures by Mukherjee:
