Awarded: SPECIAL MENTION

Competition: SANCTUARY ASIA WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Year: 2009

Where: INDIA

Description: MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE

During one of our drives we found this huge rodent lying next to the road. I asked my driver to halt near the animal to check what it was. He parked close to the rodent and we figured it was dying. We assumed that it had been knocked down by a bike. As we were discussing the possibilities, we saw a tiny animal pop out of a nullah by the side of the road covered with vegetation. The animal immediately disappeared back into the shrubs.

We initially mistook it to for a baby yellow-throated marten. But then, out it popped again, rushed towards the dying rodent, smelt it and ran back. Within half a minute, it came out again and swiftly dragged away its prey, which was visibly larger than him. It was the rare yellow-bellied weasel.

Little is known about the behaviour of this carnivore.