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Mother’s Little Headful, Chambal River, India. A female gharial hangs out in the water while her babies use her head as a basking perch. She is one of a colony of gharials that have nested at this riverbank site. The mothers keep watch from the river, with the female acting as chief guard for 100 or so hatchlings. Adults will protect the young for at least a month until the monsoon rains arrive and they move down river to feed in deeper water. Gharials are under pressure from illegal sand‑mining in nesting areas, illegal fishing, egg collection and pollution. (Photo by Udayan Rao Pawar/Unforgettable Behaviour/NHM)
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