India has its own Steve Irwin, or at least a photographer similar to Steve Irwin’s now-famous son Robert, in Mr. Dhritiman Mukherjee, a talented wildlife and conservation enthusiast who has dedicated his adult life to the love and protection of animals.
Mukherjee has spent 20 years and 280 days in the field, so it’s no surprise that he has captured an incredible string of amazing moments.
His latest photo making the rounds is one of a proud crocodile papa who can be seen swimming through the water with grace, all while undertaking a seemingly impossible task.
This one truly made me do a double-take, as I never realized crocodiles had this many babies at one time, let alone a father instead of a mother.
If you’ve been looking for Father of the Year in the animal kingdom, look no further because this proud papa is carrying an impressive load, and doing it in an incredibly photogenic way.
This particular croc is no ordinary reptile, however.
He is an endangered species, a male gharial crocodile who is the largest of all the living crocodiles.
This ancient species was first drawn by natives over 4,000 years ago, but its population saw a dramatic decline beginning in the 1930s.
This particular father is doing an exceptional job in helping the population growth, as his kind now sits at less than 1,000 members of the entire species.
“This male had mated with seven or eight females, and you can see that it was very much involved,” Mukherjee said.
“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.”
Crocodiles are known for carrying their young in their mouths, but this gharial doesn’t have that luxury because of how small it is in comparison to a typical crocodile’s mouth.
As you can see from these amazing photos, he has found a way to improvise!
Special thanks goes out to the website Kingdoms.TV for sharing these amazing photos, and be sure to check out the full article here if you’d like to see Mukherjee’s incredible collection of professional animal photos.
