Indian Gharial

Indian gharial, also known as the fish-eating crocodile, was recently spotted in Greater Kaziranga after a 75-year absence.

About Indian Gharial:

• The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians.
• Diet: Gharials are primarily piscivores, meaning they mainly feed on fish.

Characteristics:

• The gharial is olive-coloured, with adults being darker than young, which have dark brown cross bands and speckles.
• Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name “gharial“.
• The gharial has a distinctive long, slender snout that sets it apart from other crocodilian species.
  • The snout is adapted for catching fish.

Habitat:

• It is the most thoroughly aquatic crocodilian, and leaves the water only for basking and building nests on moist sandbanks.
• They prefer deep, clear, fast-flowing waters with steep, sandy banks.
• They historically ranged from rivers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
• They are now mostly found in the fresh waters of the Himalayan Rivers of India and Nepal.
• The surviving population can be found within the tributaries of the Ganges river system: Girwa (Uttar Pradesh), Son (Madhya Pradesh), Ramganga (Uttarakhand), Gandak (Bihar), Chambal (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan) and Mahanadi (Orissa).

Threats

• Gharial populations have declined by as much as 98% since the 1940s due to human activities like hunting, dam-making, and illegal sand mining from riverbanks.
• These activities destroy their habitats and nests, forcing them to abandon their basking sites.

Conservation:

• Gharial reserves in India are located in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
• Conservation status: IUCN (Critically Endangered), Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (Schedule I), and CITES (Appendix I).

Ref: Source