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A crocodile with hundreds of its babies is the wildest photo of the year. The spectacular image of this crocodile, with its babies posing on it, has been captured by wildlife photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee, who has been awarded the 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' by the National History Museum in London.

This species of crocodile (freshwater gharial) is critically endangered. Where once there were more than 20,000 specimens in South Asia, the species has now been reduced to fewer than 1,000 adult animals, and three-quarters of these are concentrated in the sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh. Dhritiman says that although most crocodiles carry their babies in their mouths, the unusual shape of the gharial's snout makes this impossible. "So the babies have to hold on to the head and back to get that close connection and protection."

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