Although it is the second longest of all living crocodilians and can weigh over a ton, the gharial (or gavial) is no danger to humans -- or, indeed, to anything other than fish. The croc's very long and narrow snout is specially adapted for catching small fish. Lightweight and hydrodynamic, the snout allows the gharial to slice it quickly through the water to snatch up fish. It is lined with interlocking, razor-sharp teeth that can grip onto the slippery prey.
The gharial's body is also highly specialized, with a laterally flattened tail (like a ship's rudder) for propulsion and maneuverability under water, and webbed feet. Unlike other crocs, it cannot lift its belly off the ground to walk.
Gharials, which nearly went extinct by the 1970s and now survive primarily in protected areas and through captive breeding programs, are social animals. Adults tend to congregate. Males become territorial during mating season, however, when they court prospective partners by rubbing their jaw across the female, rumbling softly, using chemical cues, and by blowing bubbles under her belly. The bubbles are generated using the ghara, a bulbous growth on the tip of the male snout that produces a resonant hum when the gharial exhales. After mating -- usually completely underwater -- the female lays from 30-50 eggs, which hatch 90 days later.
Did you know? Male gharials have a distinctive knob at the tip of their snout, which generates a buzzing or humming sound -- a signal during courtship -- when the animal exhales.
