Photo StoryPublished : Feb 11, 2021Updated : Sep 24, 2023
How a gnarly, shabby, knotty old oak provides food and protection to a huge host of creatures
Text by: Radhika Raj
Photos by: Dhritiman Mukherjee
How a gnarly, shabby, knotty old oak provides food and protection to a huge host of creatures
In 2015, when photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee was trekking through Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary he came across a moru oak (Quercus dilatata) that stood out against the rest of the trees. Compared to the statuesque, symmetrical chir pine, the towering oak spread its crooked arms at odd angles. Its fat trunk, crowded with mosses, ferns, and epiphytes, looked shabby. It was noisier than other trees, too. He heard a woodpecker’s steady drumming backed by a chorus of whistles, whirs, and high-pitched “kwiks”. It was perhaps over 60 feet tall, but also just as wide, creating a circle of shade beneath it. Unmistakable claw marks of the Asiatic black bear were etched on the bark. This was no ordinary oak. Every inch of it was bustling with life.
In 2020, when Mukherjee returned to the sanctuary, he went in search of it again. Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary is a mosaic of rolling alpine meadows and patches of dense broadleaf forests. At the edge of one such patch, just before a dark forest gave way to open meadows, the oak stood tall. This time, the tree was even busier. Trails of oozing sticky-sweet sap lined its branches. The liquid treat seemed to attract a jungle party. “I spotted four species of woodpeckers, nuthatches, yuhinas, and sibias within minutes,” he says. Fallen leaves and twigs at the base probably dropped by the activity of langurs, squirrels and civets on the branches were scattered on the floor. “Deep in my heart I wished to see the nocturnal Himalayan palm civet. It had eluded me for years. I spoke to a few locals and they confirmed that there had been some civet activity around the tree,” he says. At 9 pm, in pitch dark, Mukherjee returned to the spot and trained his torch on the upper reaches of the tree. A pair of glinting eyes stared back at him — a Himalayan palm civet watched him with caution. Then it turned, stuck its tongue out and licked sap off the bark.
is one of India's most prolific wildlife and conservation photographers. His work has been featured in leading publications. He is also a RoundGlass Ambassador, and an RBS Earth Hero awardee.