Gharial and its Conservation in Nepal

Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and the Marsh Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) are the two species of crocodilians extant in Nepal.  Gharial is currently considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild so, the species have been listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened species. In Nepal, Gharial is one of the protected priority species listed in Schedule I of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973.

Global and National Population Status

Before 1940s, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 population of Gharials (Whitaker et al. 1974 and Thapaliya et al. 2009) were commonly distributed in the major River systems major River systems from Indus River in Pakistan in the west to the Gangetic flood plains of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and to Irrawaddy in Myanmar in the east (Neil 1971). But by mid-1970s, the species population were massively shrunk and only restricted to two percent of its historical range. They were possibly extirpated from Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Behura and Singh 1978; Maskey 1989; Choudhury et. al 2007).

Currently, Gharial populations are isolated with around 650 mature individuals (Lang et al. 2019). They are only scattered in some of the major river systems of a) India: along the Chambal, Girwa, and Son Rivers and b) Nepal: along the Narayani River. with around 650 mature individuals (Lang et al. 2019).

Habitat and Ecology

Gharial typically prefers fast flowing water with deep pools that have significantly high sand banks (GCA 2008). Sand banks are used for basking, nesting and laying eggs. Gharials spends their utmost time for basking in winter. Gharials mostly prey upon fishes and juveniles’ individuals sometimes feed insects and smaller vertebrates like frogs (Whitaker 2007).

Threats to Survival

Some of the prime threats for the survival of Gharials are: a) Construction of water control structures like dams and barrages; b) Illegal fishing with gill nets results death from entanglement; c) Sand mining and boulder collection for construction purposes extensively disturb the nesting of Gharial; d) Industrial pollution and water poisoning.

Gharial Breeding and Monitoring Center in Nepal

To secure the viable population of Gharial in the wild, Government of Nepal established the Gharial Breeding center in 1978 in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Egg collection, captive rearing of hatchlings, rearing the young, release of young and periodic monitoring and management in the wild are the major activities of Gharial breeding and monitoring center (DNPWC 2018).

Undertaken Conservation Steps

Capacity building training to fishers’ community, community-based conservation outreach programs, fabrication of conservation interventions, management plans and policies regarding Gharial conservation are the major conservation steps undertaken by wildlife departments and related conservation organizations in Nepal. Gharial conservation action plan for Nepal (2018-2022) is still ongoing. The major goal of this action plan is to maintain the viable population of Gharial in Nepal (DNPWC 2018).

Today, Nepal is home for around 198 Gharial individuals with 85 adult individuals of 6 males and 79 females (Acharya et al. 2017).

References:

Acharya K.P., Khadka B., Jnawali, S.R., Malla S., Bhattarai S., Wikramanayake E. and Kohl M. (2017) Conservation and population recovery of gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) in Nepal. Herpetologica 73(2): 129-135

Behura B. K. and Singh L. A. K. (1978) Conservation of crocodiles in India. Indian Forester (Spec. Issue on Inter. Symp. on Tiger) 83-92.

Choudhury B.C., Singh L.A.K., Rao R.J., Basu D., Sharma R.K., Hussain S.A., Andrews H.V., Whitaker N., Whitaker R., Lenin J., Maskey T., Cadi A., Rashid S.M.A., Choudhury A.A., Dahal B., Win Ko Ko U., Thorbjarnarson J and Ross J.P. (2007) Gavialis gangeticus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007: e.T8966A1293999

GCA -Gharial Conservation Alliance. (2008). International Gharial Recovery Action Plan. http://www.Gharialconservation.org/PDF/GRAP.pdf.

Lang, J, Chowfin, S. & Ross, J.P. (2019) Gavialis gangeticus (errata version published in 2019). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T8966A149227430. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T8966A149227430.en. Downloaded on 29 January 2021.

Maskey, T.M. (1989) Movement and Survival of Captive-Reared Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in the Narayani River, Nepal. Dissertation presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Department of Forest Resources and Conservation (Wildlife and Range Sciences), University of Florida, Granville, Florida, USA

Neill, W. T. (1971) The last of the ruling reptiles: alligator, crocodiles and their kin. Columbia Univ. press, Ithaca, New York, N.Y. 486 pp

Thapaliya B.P., Khadaka M. and Kafley H. (2009) Population Status and Distribution of Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in Nepal. The Initiation, Vol. 3, 2009. ISSN: 2091- 0088. Student Forum for Forestry Research and Environment Conservation (SUFFREC), Kathmandu Forestry College, Kathmandu, Nepal. Whitaker R. (2007) The gharial: going extinct again. Iguana 14(1):25-33.

 Photo from: Pikist