The Supper!

The image was captured at Someshwar lake, Dharwad, about 20 km away from Hubli, I had visited the location to capture the images of Crakes and other birds While I was looking out for the birds, I spotted some movement in the water and instantly knew it was a snake…. took a few record shots and rushed cautiously to get a closer look and found that the snake had hunted down an unusually large fish! I was thrilled that it was a very rare sighting… I tried to keep cool and crouched low on the shore. The snake started moving towards the shore in front and to my right and even got on to the land. Then the snake decided to get back into the water and started swimming head on, towards me with the head high up , holding the prey…… I got my prize shots and the snake came well within the minimum focusing distance of my lens(3.5M). And kept coming towards me…. I got a little anxious and decided to back off. The snake noticed my movement and changed course, to get away from me. I left the spot , in excitement! It was an exhilarating experience! Initially I was thrilled to have spotted a snake, which turned into tremendous excitement on seeing the catch! But when the snake started swimming towards me, head on…I got anxious … I felt that the snake was taking the prize-catch home for supper!

Dr Chandrashekhar Shirur,   India, hubli