巨鱷慘遭上百根樹枝活埋？細看才驚覺藏玄機

英國自然博物館（Natural History Museum）每年都會舉辦「野生動物攝影師大賽（Wildlife Photographer of the Year）」，這也是世界上最大的野生動物攝影比賽，往往都會出現許多精彩的作品。今年的參賽作品中，一名攝影師就捕捉到令人震撼的一幕，也讓該作品在網路上獲得極高的評價，登上許多國際媒體的版面。

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Posted @withregram • @bbcnews Take a close look at this picture. No, that's not seaweed covering the crocodile, it's actually lots of young crocs catching a ride on their dad. ?? The shot of the freshwater gharial - an endangered species - was captured by Dhritiman Mukherjee at India's National Chambal Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh. It's now been highly commended in this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Dhritiman says that while most crocs (carefully!) carry their young in their mouths, the unusual shape of the gharial's snout makes this impossible. "So the young have to cling to the head and back for that close connection and protection," he explains. A loss of river habitat thanks to dams and barrages mean gharial numbers have fallen from over 20,000 across South Asia to less than 1,000 adults. And three-quarters of these are concentrated in the Uttar Pradesh sanctuary, making it even more important for all the youngsters catch a ride. The winners of the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition will be announced on 13 October. (?Dhitriman Mukherjee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year). Tap the link in our bio ? to take a peek at more of the amazing shots chosen for consideration. #NaturePhotography #Wildlife #Photography #AnimalsofInstagram #Crocodile #India #BBCNews

Dhritiman Mukherjee（@dhritiman_mukherjee）分享的貼文於 PDT 2020 年 9月月 1 日下午 7:57 張貼

根據外媒報導，一名來自印度的專業野生動植物保護攝影師穆赫吉（Dhritiman Mukherjee）在印度國家香巴拉保護區（National Chambal Sanctuary）看到一隻恆河鱷（Gharial）爸爸將數百隻小鱷魚背在背上兜風的罕見景象，立刻將這畫面捕捉下來，並報名參加野生動物攝影師大賽，馬上就獲得大量的關注和讚賞。

穆赫吉表示，大多數的鱷魚都會將鱷魚寶寶放在嘴裡載送，但是恆河鱷的鼻子形狀詭異，嘴巴也不大，導致牠們很難做到，所以鱷魚寶寶們必須爬到頭部或背上才能獲得父母的保護。

據了解，恆河鱷又名食魚鱷、長吻鱷，身體修長，體色為橄欖綠色，是一種淡水鱷魚，主要分布於印度河、恆河、馬哈拉迪河及布拉瑪普特拉河這4條河當中，喜歡棲息於水流又急又深，水質較好的河裏。但因為水壩和攔河壩，河流棲息地減少，讓牠在南亞的數量從原本的20,000減少到不到1,000隻，屬於極危物種。