Photo Feature
Oh, Rats
This grim image is of a lesser bamboo rat Cannomys badius, probably hunted for food, which is critical to the ecotones in which it is found. Virtually all habitats next to which humans live are now retreating under the destructive attrition that has become the handmaiden of India’s development paradigm. Of course this is not the only creature facing the double-barrelled assault of habitat loss and hunting. It hardly helps that the illegal wildlife trade and an eroding respect for nature, that once typified Indian attitudes, are combining to turn Homo sapiens into the most potent agent of biodiversity annihilation since the dawn of life on Earth.
Photo: Sandeep Dhumal
Location: Arunachal Pradesh Details: Camera: Canon EOS 5D mark III, Lens: Canon EF 16-35 mm. f/2.8L II USM, Shutter speed: 1/60 sec., Aperture: f/7.1, ISO 640, Focal length: 27 mm. Image taken: May 29, 2015; 8:49 a.m.