(ORDO NEWS) — Did you know that one of the largest crocodiles in the world is not dangerous to humans?
1. Gangetic gharial is a species of large reptiles from the order of crocodiles. Several species existed millions of years ago, but today the Gangetic gharial is the only living representative of the ancient genus of gharials.
2. Gavial – one of the largest modern crocodiles : males can reach 5-5.5 meters in length. On average, the body length of males ranges between 4-4.5 m, and females reach an average of 3-3.5 m. The gavial weighs 150-250 kg – this, by the way, is not very much.
3. Gharial is famous for its unusual snout: they have very, very narrow jaws . Their length exceeds the width of the base by about 5 times. The presence of about a hundred small teeth distinguishes gharials from other crocodiles: in other representatives of the order, the number of teeth is much lower, and the size is larger.
4. These animals live on the territory of the Indo-Gangetic plain and the northern part of Hindustan . Therefore, if you were planning a vacation, say, to India, we advise you to be prepared for unexpected meetings. Gharials choose calm areas of muddy deep waters with a fast current – these are the rivers Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganges and others. Gharials spend most of their time in the water.
5. Gharial cubs feed on insects and small vertebrates, but as they grow older, prey becomes more serious. Adults prey mainly on fish, less often on small mammals. For humans, they do not pose a danger. Gharials will not only not attack, but most likely they will not scare: they do not know how to move quickly. Most often, these animals slowly crawl along the ground.
6. Gavial is listed in the Red Book with the status of “endangered”. People who live next to these animals view gharials as competitors (both eat fish); at the same time, the meat, eggs and skins of crocodiles have always been highly valued by man. In the 1970s, the species was close to extinction, but today many populations are recovering.
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