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Gavial (=gharial)
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Genus
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Gavialis
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Species
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gangeticus
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Status
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Endangered
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Distribution
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Pakistan, Burma, Bangladesh, India, Nepal
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Appearance
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Crocodile-like, with an extremely long, thin snout. Lengths of 6.5 meters (21 feet) have been recorded. Its head appears disproportionately small in relation to its large body. Adult males will develop a large fleshy knob on the tip of their snouts, which apparently is used to modify the sounds they make during social interactions.
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Behavior
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Gavials, or gharials, spend more time in the water than most other crocodiles. It is often found in the fast-flowing reaches of the Indus, Bhima, Mahanadi, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Kaladan, and Irrawaddy rivers.
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Diet
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Fish
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Feeding
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The thin snouts of gharials are thought to be adaptations to a diet of fish, because they are too delicate to capture large mammals like other members of its family do.
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Conservation
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The gharial's habitat has a high human population density, and net-fishing, dams, and egg collecting have depleted its populations. Fortunately for them, an intensive, government-run management and restocking program seems to be helping it back from the brink of extinction.
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Images and Video Clips
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Animal Communication Panel
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