Gavialis gangeticus
Silhouette: Jagged Fang Designs · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8.5 to 14.8 ft) long, and males 3 to 6 m (9.8 to 19.7 ft). Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial". The gharial is well adapted to catching fish because of its long, narrow snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth.
The gharial probably evolved in the northern Indian subcontinent. Fossil gharial remains were excavated in Pliocene deposits in the Sivalik Hills and the Narmada River valley. It currently inhabits rivers in the plains of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is the most thoroughly aquatic crocodilian, and leaves the water only for basking and building nests on moist sandbanks. Adults mate at the end of the cold season. Females congregate in spring to dig nests, in which they lay 20–95 eggs. They guard the nests and the young, which hatch before the onset of the monsoon. The hatchlings stay and forage in shallow water during their first year, but move to sites with deeper water as they grow.
The wild gharial population has declined drastically since the 1930s and is limited to only 2% of its historical range today. Conservation programmes initiated in India and Nepal focused on reintroducing captive-bred gharials since the early 1980s. Loss of habitat because of sand mining and conversion to agriculture, depletion of fish resources and detrimental fishing methods continue to threaten the population. It has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2007.
The oldest known depictions of the gharial are about 4,000 years old and were found in the Indus Valley. Hindus regard it as the vehicle of the river deity Gaṅgā. Local people living near rivers attributed mystical and healing powers to the gharial, and used some of its body parts as ingredients of indigenous medicine. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 2 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 3 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
No species of the same family or order lives in Ranthambore National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Gharial sighting in Ranthambore National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 7 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Gharial in Ranthambore National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, July and October, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gharial sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Gharial sightings, Ranthambore National Park ranks 4th at about 30%. The best odds are in Chitwan National Park (Nepal, about 80%), Royal Bardia National Park (Nepal, about 40%) and Jim Corbett National Park (India, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gharial is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Ranthambore National Park (35 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
