Bagaha: On World Crocodile Day 2025, 174 baby gharials were released into the Gandak river in Bihar. The release took place with the help of the Wildlife Trust of India and the state Forest Department. It is part of an ongoing effort to protect and increase the population of this endangered species.
Forest official Dr Neshamani K said that the eggs were found near the Dhanaha-Ratwal bridge in Bagaha. These were safely kept and later hatched. The number of baby gharials being released into the Gandak river is increasing every year — 125 were released in 2023 and 160 in 2024. This shows that the conservation work is paying off.
Thanks to these efforts, the Gandak river now has more than 775 gharials. This makes it the second most important river for gharials in India after the Chambal river. The Gandak river starts in Nepal and flows into Bihar, where the Forest Department releases baby gharials every year.
Subrata K Behera, who leads the project at the Wildlife Trust of India, explained that India is home to three types of crocodiles: marsh crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles, and gharials. Gharials face many threats, including loss of habitat and illegal hunting. The Indian government launched a crocodile conservation project in 1975 to help save them. Now, their eggs are hidden in the sand along riverbanks, and when the babies hatch, the mother calls them, and they walk into the river — a small but powerful sign of survival.
