IT MIGHT look as if this giant crocodilian has been sprinkled with chocolate strands, but in reality, it is hanging out with some 150 youngsters as they compete to clamber onto its back. This touching family moment in the Chambal river in northern India was captured by nature photographer .
A lesser-known relative of alligators and crocodiles, gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) are the most water-loving of the crocodilians. They swim elegantly, although adults can’t walk well.
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Gharials have large bodies and disproportionately long, thin snouts, crammed full of interlocking teeth. Their name comes from the bulbous growth on the end of adult males’ noses (see picture below). The appendage is named a ghara, a Hindi word for the earthenware pot it resembles. It isn’t known for sure what it does, but it is thought to be an extension of the nasal chamber that amplifies the hisses and popping noises males make while guarding their territory or courting.
During the breeding season, a male mates with all the females in its territory. Each female lays its eggs on a sandbank, standing guard until the clutch hatches in unison. The young then congregate in large groups, sometimes of as many as 1000 individuals. So this 4.5-metre male is probably the father of all these recent hatchlings. As such, he helps protect his progeny – and they use him as a sunbed.
Photographer,
Dhritiman Mukherjee,
