Sanctuary | Photofeature
Mahadev Suresh BhiseLOCATION: Forest Department Garden, Amboli, Maharashtra, India DETAILS: Camera: Canon EOS 700D,
Lens: Canon EF 100 mm. f/2.8L Macro IS USM, Shutter speed: 1/200 sec., Aperture: f/8, ISO 100, Focal length: 100 mm.Epomis Modus Operandi Lure your
victim by appearing helpless. Attack
the throat with your curved, hook-
like mandibles. Clamp down and
begin your feast. This is the modus
operandi of the larvae of ground
beetles of the genus Epomis that
predate exclusively on amphibians.
And this chilling image is believed to
be only the second record of Epomis
predation on an amphibian in India.
That the amphibian in question is the
endemic and critically-endangered
Amboli bush frog demands further
study to understand the impact that
these unassuming predators are
having on frog populations in the
Western Ghats. The dilated eye of the
dying frog and the larvae obscenely
hanging out of its throat make this
crisp image eye-catching, but it is the
questions that it prompts, that make
it exceptional.
Biplab HazraLOCATION: Bankura district, West Bengal, India DETAILS: Camera: Nikon D7000, Lens: Nikon 70-300 mm. f/4.5-5.6,
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec., Aperture: f/4.5, ISO 640, Focal length: 70 mm.Hell is Here The heat from the fi re
scorches their delicate skin as mother
and child attempt to fl ee the mob. In
the lead, the cow’s expansive ears are
angled forward as she stoicly ignores
the crowd of jeering men. Behind her,
her calf screams in confusion and fear
as the fi re licks at her feet. Flaming
tar balls and crackers fl y through the
air to a soundtrack of human laughter
and shouts. In the Bankura district of
West Bengal this sort of humiliation
of pachyderms is routine, as it is in the
other elephant-range states of Assam,
Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and
more. India is the world’s stronghold
for the Asian elephant and boasts over
70 per cent of the global population
of the species. But this achievement
rings hollow as vital elephant habitats
and routes continue to be ravaged,
and human-elephant confl ict escalates
to a fatal degree. The ignorance and
bloodlust of mobs that attack herds
for fun, is compounded by the plight
of those that actually suff er damage
to land, life and property by wandering
elephants and the utter indiff erence of
the central and state government to
recognise the crisis that is at hand. For
these smart, gentle, social animals who
have roamed the sub-continent for
centuries, hell is now and here.