Gharial

Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 1 "Geographical Diversity of India"; Class 10, Ch 2 "Forest and Wildlife Resources"

Meaning

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a crocodile that eats only fish. It has a long, thin snout full of sharp teeth and lives in deep, fast-flowing rivers with sandy banks. The IUCN Red List (the global list of threatened species) ranks it Critically Endangered, the highest danger level before extinction in the wild. It is one of India's three crocodiles, with the mugger and the saltwater crocodile. It now survives mainly in the National Chambal Sanctuary, the Girwa river and the Gandak river.

It matters because it shows how healthy a river is. Captive breeding under the Crocodile Breeding (Conservation) Project, 1975 helped it recover, so India often uses it as an example of species recovery.

Explanation

Body and food

• Snout: long and thin. The mugger and the saltwater crocodile have broad, heavy snouts.
• Teeth: many sharp teeth for gripping slippery fish.
• Diet: fish only. The mugger eats both fish and mammals. The saltwater crocodile hunts large prey.
• Why the shape helps: a thin snout moves quickly through water, so the gharial can snap sideways at fish. It is not built to catch big animals.

What habitat it needs

• Deep, fast rivers: it hunts fish in moving water.
• Sandy banks: females dig nests in sandbanks and lay their eggs there.
• Natural river flow: water levels need to stay steady, so nests are not flooded and fish stay plentiful.
• Result: the gharial is a fussy species. When any one of these conditions is lost, it disappears from that river.

Why it became so rare

• Sand mining on nesting banks
• Sand is dug out of riverbanks for building work.
• The sandbanks where gharials lay eggs are destroyed.

• Fewer eggs hatch.

• Dams that change river flow

• Dams hold back water and then release it without warning.
• Deep, fast stretches turn shallow or still, and nests can be flooded.

• The river no longer suits the gharial.

• Fishing nets

• Gharials get caught in nets while chasing fish.
• They cannot come up to breathe, so they drown.

How India brings it back: "grow and release"

• Crocodile Breeding (Conservation) Project, 1975, started with help from UNDP and FAO.
• Step 1: eggs are collected from riverbanks before they can be destroyed or eaten.
• Step 2: the young are raised in breeding centres until they are too big for most predators.
• Step 3: they are released into protected rivers.
• Result: many more young gharials survive their most dangerous early stage.

Where it occurs

• National Chambal Sanctuary on the Chambal river is its main stronghold. It covers three states: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Girwa river: Katarniaghat, Uttar Pradesh.
• Gandak river: Bihar.
• Same rivers, other rare animals: the Chambal and the Gandak are also home to the Gangetic river dolphin [3]. Protecting these rivers helps both species.
• The project: the Crocodile Breeding (Conservation) Project (1975) is run by the Government of India. It works in protected river sanctuaries and covers all three of India's crocodiles.

Don't confuse with

• Mugger (marsh crocodile): it has a broad snout, eats mixed food (fish and mammals), lives in freshwater lakes, rivers and reservoirs, and is Vulnerable. The gharial has a thin snout, eats only fish and is Critically Endangered.
• Saltwater (estuarine) crocodile: it lives in estuaries and mangroves, such as Bhitarkanika, the Sundarbans and the Andaman Islands, and is Least Concern. The gharial is a freshwater river species.
• Gangetic river dolphin: it is a mammal that finds fish by echolocation (sending out sounds and listening to the echoes). It is Endangered and has been India's National Aquatic Animal since 2009. The gharial is a reptile, and it is Critically Endangered.
• IUCN levels: the order of danger is Vulnerable → Endangered → Critically Endangered. The mugger is one step below Endangered. The gharial is at the top level.

Prelims Hooks

• Gharial = long, thin snout + fish only + Critically Endangered. If a question offers a broad snout or mixed diet, that describes the mugger.
• National Chambal Sanctuary = three states: MP, Rajasthan, UP. A common trap lists only two states.
• Girwa river → Katarniaghat, Uttar Pradesh. Gandak river → Bihar.
• Crocodile Breeding (Conservation) Project = 1975, with UNDP and FAO. It works by "grow and release".
• India's three crocodiles by threat level: gharial (Critically Endangered) > mugger (Vulnerable) > saltwater crocodile (Least Concern).
• Habitat match: gharial → deep, fast, sandy rivers. Saltwater crocodile → Bhitarkanika, the Sundarbans and the Andaman mangroves.

Mains Points

• River development vs. a river species (GS-III):
• Sand mining, dams and fishing are linked to jobs and growth along rivers.
• The same activities destroy nesting banks, change the river's flow and drown gharials in nets.

• Response: control sand mining on nesting banks, keep enough natural flow below dams, and involve fishing communities in protecting the river.

• Captive breeding as a recovery tool:

• "Grow and release" under the 1975 project helped the gharial come back, along with lions (284 in 1990 → 891 in 2025 [2]) and rhinos.

• Limit: released gharials still need safe rivers. Breeding cannot replace protecting the habitat.

• One main home is risky:

• Most gharials live in the Chambal, so one disease, pollution event or flow change could destroy most of them.
• Keeping groups in the Girwa and Gandak spreads the risk. This is the same idea as Indian Rhino Vision 2020 and the planned Gir–Kuno move for lions.

Related concepts

• Project Elephant
• One-horned rhinoceros
• Asiatic lion
• Project Cheetah
• Hangul
• Project Hangul
• Red panda
• Snow leopard
• Great Indian Bustard
• Blackbuck

Read more

• Saving other species: elephants, rhinos, lions, cheetahs, crocodiles and more