Gharial Species Stock Video Footage

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as the gavial, and fish-eating crocodile is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae, native to sandy freshwater river banks in the plains of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is threatened by loss of riverine habitat, depletion of fish resources, and entanglement in fishing nets. As the wild population has declined drastically since the 1930s, the gharial is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It once inhabited all the major river systems of the northern Indian subcontinent. Today, its distribution is limited to only 2% of its historical range. It inhabits foremost flowing rivers with high sand banks that it uses for basking and building nests. Adults mate in the cold season. The young hatch before the onset of the monsoon. The gharial is one of the longest of all living crocodilians. Males reach a body length of up to 6 m (20 ft) and have a distinctive boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known in Hindi as ghara. Its common name is derived from this similarity. With 110 sharp, interdigitated teeth in its long, thin snout, it is well adapted to catching fish, its main diet. Fossil remains were excavated in Pliocene deposits in the Sivalik Hills and Narmada River valley. It probably evolved 42 million years ago. Learn more about Gharial