Tomistoma schlegelii
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii), also known by the names Malayan gharial, Sunda gharial and tomistoma, is a freshwater crocodilian of the family Gavialidae native to Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the global population is estimated at around 2,500 to 10,000 mature individuals.
The species name schlegelii honors Hermann Schlegel. The false gharial is dark reddish-brown above with dark brown or black spots and cross-bands on the back and tail. Ventrals are grayish-white, with some lateral dark mottling. Juveniles are mottled with black on the sides of the jaws, body, and tail. The smooth and unornamented snout is extremely long and slender, parallel sided, with a length of 3.0 to 3.5 times the width at the base. All teeth are long and needle-like, interlocking on the insides of the jaws, and are individually socketed. The dorsal scales are broad at midbody and extend onto the sides of the body. The digits are webbed at the base. Integumentary sensory organs are present on the head and body scalation. Scales behind the head are frequently a slightly enlarged single pair. Some individuals... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanjung Puting National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ragunan Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Tierpark Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Bali Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Toronto Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Taipei Zoo | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 8 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Khao Kheow Open Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 11 | Safari World | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 12 | Los Angeles Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Wildpark Leipzig | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Audubon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | National Zoo of Malaysia | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 16 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Gembira Loka Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 18 | Riga Zoo | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 19 | Łódź Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 20 | Auckland Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 21 | Bandung Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 22 | Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Riverbanks Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 24 | Taiping Zoo | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 25 | Turtle Back Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | La Ferme aux crocodiles | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 27 | Ueno Zoological Gardens (West Garden) | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 28 | L'Oceanogràfic | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 29 | Alligator Adventure | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Crocodile Bank | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 31 | Bioparc Fuengirola | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 32 | Johor Zoo | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 33 | Virginia Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 34 | Sea World Indonesia | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 35 | 't Brinkie | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 36 | Blue Planet Aquarium | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 37 | Glen Echo Park Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 38 | Batu Secret Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 39 | COEX Aquarium | 🇰🇷 South Korea | |
| 40 | Columbus Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 41 | Grandview Mall Aquarium | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 42 | Okinawa Zoo & Museum | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 43 | Selig Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 44 | Snakeroom Serpentarium | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 45 | Sunshine Aquarium | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 46 | Universal City Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 47 | Wolfgang-Köhler-Primaten-Forschungszentrum | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a False Gharial sighting in Tanjung Puting National Park on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 8 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a False Gharial in Tanjung Puting National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March, September and November–January, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most False Gharial sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Tanjung Puting National Park, in our data
Tanjung Puting National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate False Gharial sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the False Gharial is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Tanjung Puting National Park (24 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.
