Rainforest Realm
Site Map
Animals
Plants
Structure
Destruction
Resources
About Us

 GHARIALS


 


 I would like to tell you some stuff on an animal called Gharial. So let's start. Gharials are large, long ,lizard like animals. But they differ from their cousins the alligator and a crocodile because of the shape of their heads. The gharials have long, slender snouts, and sometimes longer, and thinner than the others. They have jagged teeth along the upper lower jaw, and  beneath the nose. They have long thin noses and have many sharp teeth. If you still don't understand  what a gharial looks like, they look somewhat like a cartoon crocodile or a alligator.  They grow up to be at least 21 feet long, and they weigh up to at least 2200 pounds. They're exactly like a crocodile or a alligator because they're all cold-blooded.
    They live in the rain forest and the Indus river system in Pakistan, Western India. They are found in clear water, fast-moving waters and deep pools. They spend most of the time basking or warming themselves in the sun. If they're not basking,  they'll be swimming through the waters with their eyes above their heads to watch the surroundings.
    They eat almost the same thing as crocodiles and alligators: fish, birds, crabs, and small mammals. but the main source of food is fish. If your wondering how they get the food, for instance like the crab, they catch the prey by sweeping through the water with the large, slender snouts then trapping the prey and closing the mouth.
    Gharials mating season takes place between late winter and late spring. But before they mate, they must get a group of three or four females. They attract the females by a whistling hissing sound. After they find the females, the male must mate with each female at a different time. They mate by wrapping on top of each other and sinking to the bottom of the water. After mating, they have about 40 eggs, but most do not survive. Gharials incubation period is about 2-3 months. When the babies arrive, the mother helps by pushing the babies toward the water. Possibly, even likely, out of the whole clutch of eggs only 1 survives.
    The life span of the Gharials is about 50 years, which is a long time.