27/06/2020
A critically endangered crocodile on the brink of extinction, the Gharial is quite unmistakable with its long, thin jaws that come in handy when catching fish. The reptile gets its name from the pot-like large bulbous growth (known as ghara), found on the tip of the snout on the male of the species that plays a role in mating rituals. In fact, these are the only crocodiles with such an obvious difference between males and females.
As is the curse with most stand-out animals with such unique features, the Gharial is hunted wildly for its skin, ghara and other body parts. However, the multitude of threats faced by this species doesn’t end at exotic poaching. The damming of their river habitat is depleting the water supply by altering the river flow. The Gharial, with its short stubby legs, is incapable of trudging across river banks in search of new habitat and as a consequence are suffering. Additionally, illegal river sand-mining, increased agricultural activities, and high water traffic also disturbs and threatens their existing habitat, as well as negatively affecting their nesting and basking habits. Another major threat is overfishing as it leads to a lack of prey as well as accidental capture and injury by fishermen.
Consequently, their numbers have dwindled drastically. Once widespread across the Indian subcontinent, these large crocodiles are now restricted to as few as five severely fragmented and depleted populations across India and Nepal.
The Gharial has been listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as a result of a catastrophic population decline by up to 98% since the 1940s. There are now thought to be fewer than 250 adult individuals remaining in the wild. Once found across the riverlands of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan, the Gharial currently survives in several severely fragmented populations in India and Nepal. Several conservation efforts have been tasked with eliminating the “critically endangered” status of this unique reptile and bringing their numbers back up to maintain the significant role they play on the ecological balance of the river systems of our country.