Sometimes
you have to be at the right place at the right moment. However, most of the
time being at the right place at the right time necessitates spending hours,
days, weeks, and even years getting there!
This
happened recently to photographer Mark Cowan, who traveled to the Amazon to
investigate reptile and amphibian diversity. While there, he managed to snap a
"once in a lifetime" image of a caiman lazing around with a crown of
lovely butterflies resting on his head.
While
traveling down the Amazon with the Herpetology Division at the University of
Michigan to investigate reptile and amphibian diversity photographer Mark Cowan
obtained a remarkable shot that is as aesthetically gorgeous as it is
instructive. The picture depicts a snoozing caiman wearing a colorful butterfly
crown. Biologically, the winged creatures require salt to exist, and the water
that accumulates on the caiman's skin is an important source of these minerals. Other animals species must
rely on similar commensalism to get the
nutrition they need. While the caiman does not gain nutritionally from the
connection, his cheeky face indicates that he is not bothered by the attention.
Cowan's
Butterflies and Caiman earned a Special Commendation in the Ecology and
Environmental Science Category of the 2016 Royal Society Publishing
Photography Competition owing to the butterflies' unusual
arrangement. Look closely—there are three species of butterflies present, and
each species sticks to its own type.
The Royal
Society: Website | Facebook | Twitter
via [Colossal]
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