Greatly Endangered Gharial
Tags: Asia, Reptiles, Crocodile, Endangered Species, Animals

Appearance

Gharials are an olive colour with darker rings along their back and tail. They have a long narrow snout and are the longest of all crocodilians. Gharials have sharp slender teeth along the of their snout.

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Weight

Most Gharials weigh 1000 kilograms, about2200 pounds! That’s double the weight of a HORSE!

Length

A male Gharial is about 5 to 6 metres (16 to 20 feet) in length and a female grows to about 4 -5 metres (12 to 15 feet). That is as tall as a giraffe.

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Habitat

Gharials are very picky when it comes to the type of water they want. They like clear, freshwater rivers where the water is deep. They were once found from Pakistan to Myanmar but their population has shrunk to 3 countries. India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Diet

Gharials are carnivores meaning they only eat meat. Young Gharials eat mostly small invertebrates and some even eat small frogs. But adults eat mostly fish. Gharial’s teeth, which are extremely pointy, are perfect for holding on to a squiggly fish.

Behaviour

Gharials are the least aggressive and territorial of the crocodilians. Territorial means aggressive when protecting its area or territory. They are often found in groups but some individuals can also be found roaming alone.

Unlike most alligators and crocodiles, Gharials do not have strong legs. Even when they are adults they cannot raise the body even 1 centimetre high. So, Gharials have to move on land by sliding on their bellies.

Day or Night?

Gharials are diurnal animals which means they sleep at night and hunt in the day. Humans are also diurnal animals and so are dogs.

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Communication

Gharials communicate with each other by vibrations in the water. Males can also make buzzing noises with their snouts.

Mating

Gharials mate from November to January. They make nests and lay eggs in May.

Male Gharials grow a large spot on their snout called a ghara. A Hindi word for “mud pot”. They use it when they are showing off to a female Gharial.

Eggs

A mother Gharial starts laying her eggs during March, April and May. She makes a nest onshore and lays her eggs. The mother Gharial protects the eggs from all predators trying to eat them until they hatch.

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How Many?

The mother Gharial can lay 12 to 100 eggs but normally lay 25–60. The egg’s size depends on the size of the female Gharial. The size of the egg is the largest of all crocodilian species. They weigh about 100–160g (3–6 oz), about twice the weight of a chicken egg.

Where?

Female Gharials lay eggs at night time. First, they dig a hole in the sand, usually somewhere near water. Then the mother lays the eggs into the hole and covers them with sand. She stays near her nest until her eggs hatch to keep them safe from predators like pigs, mongooses, and large lizards.

Babies

When baby Gharials are born they stay in the same area where they hatch for the first few years. Their mother protects them that entire time. After 2 or 3 years, the baby Gharials leave. Sometimes, however, they have to leave earlier because another alligator has taken over the area.

Interesting Facts

Gharials manage their body temperature by lying in the sun to warm up or resting in water to cool down. They can swim at speeds of 24 km/h (15 mph). That’s almost double the speed of a human which is at 13 km/h (8 mph)!

A Gharial, although it looks scary, does not attack humans.

There is something very unique about these animals. What’s that? The Gharial is the only living crocodilian where males and females have different appearances.

Gharials live for about 40–60 years in the wild.

Dangers

Gharials are one of the most endangered alligators. Their main threats are habitat loss and hunting. Gharials almost went extinct in the 1970s. There are now just 182 Gharials left in the world.