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Gharial

  
The Life of Animals | Gharial | The average size of mature gharials is 3.5 to 4.5 m (11 to 15 ft). Young gharials can reach a length of 1 m (3.3 ft) in eighteen months. Males attain a body length of 3 to 6 m (9.8 to 20 ft), while females are Smaller and reach a body length of 2.7 to 3.75 m (8.9 to 12.3 ft).  Male individuals of up to 6 meters (20 ft) were the resource persons commonly encountered in the past, but large Such individuals are unknown today. Their well-developed laterally flattened tail and webbed rear feet Provide Tremendous Their maneuverability in deepwater habitats. On land, however, an adult gharial Itself can only push forward and slides on its belly. Its elongated, narrow snout Becomes Thicker proportionally shorter and as an animal ages. The bulbous growth on the tip of a male's snout renders gharials the only visibly sexually dimorphic crocodilian. This growth is present in mature individuals and ghara Called after the Indian word meaning "pot". The Nepali word means घड़ा ghaṛā earthenware pots, pitchers, watervessel.



The jaws are lined with many interlocking, razor-sharp teeth - 27 to 29 upper and 25 or 26 lower teeth on each side. The front teeth are the largest. The nasal opening of a gharial is Smaller than the supra-temporal fossae. The lower anterior margin of orbit (Jugal) is raised and its mandibular symphysis is extremely long, extending to the 23rd or 24th tooth. Nuchal and dorsal scutes form a single continuous shield composed of 21 or 22 transverse series. Gharials have an outer row of soft, smooth, or feebly keeled scutes in Addition to the bony dorsal scutes.

The outer toes are two-thirds webbed, while the middle toe is only one-third webbed. Typically, adult gharials have a dark olive color tone, while young ones are pale olive, with dark brown spots or cross-bands Since 2007, the species is listed as Critically Endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species Issued by IUCN, and protected by CITES Appendix I. mConservation programs have been undertaken in India and Nepal, based on the establishment of these protected areas and restocking with animals born in captivity, but nowhere has re-established viable restocking Populations In the 1970s the gharial Came to the Brink of extinction and even now Remains on the critically endangered list.  Since 1981, more than 3000 young gharial have been released into the wild. The release of captive gharials was not as Successful as expected. Recently, more than 100 gharials Died in India in the Chambal River from an unknown cause with gout-like symptoms.