| NAME OF ANIMAL | DESCRIPTION |
| INDIAN GHARIAL | The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gaviidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. It is also called ‘gavial’. The name ‘fish-eating crocodile’ is a translation of its Bengali name ‘mecho kumhir’, with ‘mecho’ being. The name ‘Indian gharial’ has occasionally been used for gharial populations in India. |
| MEASUREMENT | MALE | FEMALE |
| HEAD TO BODY LENGTH | 16-20 FT (5-6 METERS ) | 11.5-15 FEET (3.5-4.5) METERS |
| SHOULDER HEIGHT | 11.8”-14.6” (30-37 cm). | 11.8”-14.6” (30-37 cm). |
| TAIL LENGTH | 3 TO 5 TIMES AS LONG AS IT IS BROAD AT THE BASE | 3 TO 5 TIMES AS LONG AS IT IS BROAD AT THE BASE |
| WEIGHT | ADULT MALES WEIGH ABOUT 160 KG (350 LB) ON AVERAGE | FEMALE GHARIALS TYPICALLY WEIGH BETWEEN 350 AND 400 POUNDS (159 TO 181 KG), |
| CHARACTERISTICS | DECRIPTION |
| RANGE | HISTORICALLY, THE GHARIAL’S RANGE SPANNED RIVERS OF BANGLADESH, BHUTAN, INDIA, MYANMAR, NEPAL AND PAKISTAN. |
| HABITAT | RIVERINE HABITATS OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT |
| PRIMARY DIET | CARNIVORE |
| FOOD HABITATS | FISH: THEY CONSUME A VARIETY OF FISH SPECIES, INCLUDING CATFISH, CARP, AND PRAWNS. INVERTEBRATES: JUVENILES MAY ALSO FEED ON INSECTS, CRUSTACEANS, AND MOLLUSKS. SMALL VERTEBRATES: OCCASIONALLY, GHARIALS MAY EAT FROGS, TURTLES, SNAKES, AND SMALL MAMMALS. |
| STATUS | CRITICALLY ENDANGERED |
| CONSERVATION STATUS | TODAY, ONLY FRAGMENTED POPULATIONS REMAIN IN NEPAN AND NORTHERN INDIA. FEWER THAN 1,000 INDIAN GHARIALS (GAVIALIS GANGETICUS) REMAIN IN THE WILD. GHARIAL POPULATION HAS DRASTICALLY DECLINED, FROM AN ESTIMATED 5,000-10,000 IN THE 1940S TO FEWER THAN 250 BY 2006, A DECLINE OF 96-98% |
| REASON FOR THE STATUS | HABITAT ALTERATION, POLLUTION, AND HUMAN PERSECUTION, INCLUDING HUNTING FOR THEIR SKIN, ARE MAJOR THREATS TO THEIR SURVIVAL. |
| CHARACTERISTICS | DESCRIPTION: REPRODUCTION & BEHAVIOR |
| GESTATION PERIOD | THE INDIAN GHARIAL’S GESTATION (INCUBATION) PERIOD, REFERRING TO THE TIME IT TAKES FOR EGGS TO HATCH, IS 60 TO 80 DAYS. GHARIAL MOTHERS TYPICALLY LAY THEIR EGGS IN NESTS DUG INTO SANDY RIVERBANKS AND WILL GUARD THE NESTS DURING THIS PERIOD. |
| YOUNG PER BIRTH | INDIAN GHARIALS TYPICALLY LAY BETWEEN 20 AND 95 EGGS PER CLUTCH, WITH AN AVERAGE OF 30-40 EGGS. |
| WEANING | INDIAN GHARIAL HATCHLINGS GENERALLY STAY WITH THEIR MOTHER FOR A PERIOD OF SEVERAL WEEKS OR EVEN MONTHS AFTER HATCHING. SOME SOURCES SPECIFICALLY MENTION AN AVERAGE TIME TO INDEPENDENCE OF 3 WEEKS. |
| SEXUAL MATURITY | FEMALES ~3 M (9.8 FT) LONG AT 10 YEARS OF AGE / MALES ~3.5 M (11.5 FT) LONG AT 13 YEARS OF AGE |
| BEHAVIOR | LIKE OTHER CROCODILIANS, GHARIALS ARE POLYGAMOUS, WITH ONE MALE DEFENDING A TERRITORY WHERE HE AND SEVERAL FEMALES LIVE. TERRITORIAL AND COURTING DISPLAY BEHAVIORS INCLUDE HEAD SLAPPING THE WATER AND BUZZING VOCALIZATIONS. |
| MAIN PREADATOR | HOWEVER, THEIR EGGS AND HATCHLINGS ARE VULNERABLE TO PREDATION BY LARGE BIRDS, MAMMALS, AND OTHER REPTILES |
| LIFESPAN IN THE WILD | WHILE THE MAXIMUM LIFESPAN IN THE WILD IS THOUGHT TO BE AROUND 50-60 YEARS |
| LIFESPAN IN CAPTIVITY | INDIAN GHARIALS CAN LIVE FOR AT LEAST 29 YEARS IN CAPTIVITY/WHILE THE MAXIMUM LIFESPAN IN THE WILD IS THOUGHT TO BE AROUND 50-60 YEARS |
