Fun Facts for Kids
Male Gharial crocodiles have a large, fleshy protuberance at the end of their noses, that females do not have. But females also have long snouts with many teeth in them. It is estimated that this crocodile, found in Nepal and India, has up to 110 teeth.
Gharials live almost entirely in water and are not able to walk any distance on land.
Mother gharials lay eggs and bury them in the sand near rivers. The ‘fish crocodile’ has the biggest eggs in the crocodile family. They are very large at about 3.3 inches (85 cm) long and weigh about 5 ½ oz (160 g).
When infants are ready to leave the nest, they make a series of chirps. These sounds attract their mothers, who dig them up, before monsoon rains come. Â Both parents guard eggs, and then afterwards the young move to shallow pools for about one year.
Gharial crocodiles are very endangered due to habitat loss from sand mining, irrigation projects, dams, the grazing of domesticated animals, overfishing, and projects designed to prevent river banks erosion. Before 1940, many more gharial crocodiles were thought to be alive. Only about 250, or two percent, are thought to be left.
Learn more about Gharial crocodiles
