Monkey Business

Nayan Khanolkar's Image

Nayan Khanolkar’s (India) camera trap attracts the attention of curious langur monkeys.

These langurs discovered Nayan’s camera trap before he even had a chance to switch it on.

He’d been hoping to photograph tigers in the forest near Chandrapur. Instead, he spent most of his time fixing gear dismantled by monkeys that had been watching from the trees.

Langurs are a familiar sight in western India, especially in urban environments. Here, they’re partly protected because of their sacred status in Hinduism.

But relations can be fraught, particularly when they raid crops or pester tourists for food.


Behind the lens

Nayan Khanolkar

Nayan Khanolkar

India

Nayan is a self-taught nature photographer who’s been travelling the length and breadth of India to document wildlife for more than two decades. He specialises in camera trap photography and is currently working on big cats in human-dominated landscapes. Through his pictures, he endeavours to sensitise people to animal behaviour and raise awareness of conservation of India’s rich wildlife heritage.

Image details

  • Nikon D90
  • Tokina 11–16mm f2.8 lens
  • 1/200 at f11  •   ISO 200  •   custom housing  •   Nikon SB-900 Speedlight flash  •   Cognisys motion sensor
  • Near Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India
Copyright in WPY competition photographs remains the property of the respective photographers. You may not copy, share, reproduce or republish the photographs except as expressly permitted by copyright law. For media image usage enquiries, please contact us.

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