Gandak river becomes India’s second-largest gharial habitat after Chambal

Key facts

• Gandak river along the India-Nepal border in West Champaran, Bihar now hosts over 1,000 gharials, making it the second-largest habitat after Chambal river.
• Adult gharials in Gandak rose from 54 in 2015 to more than 400 in 2025, recording an overall 588% increase.
• Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Bihar’s forest and environment climate department jointly released 944 gharials along a 326-km stretch from Valmikinagar to Sonepur between 2015 and 2025, including 212 in 2025 alone.
• Chambal river currently shelters over 2,400 gharials.
• Gandak flows through Valmiki Tiger Reserve and supports an annual gharial population growth rate of 20-22%.
• In 1975, eggs collected from Gandak initiated India’s first captive breeding and release programme at Tikarpada, Odisha.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognises Gandak as one of the six major global gharial habitats.
• Global gharial numbers declined by nearly 98%, with adult population falling 58% between 1997 and 2006, leading to a 2007 IUCN listing as critically endangered.
• IUCN’s 2019 assessment estimated about 650 breeding adult gharials worldwide.
• Nest protection involves community-based monitoring, relocation of erosion-prone nests, and 60-70 day incubation before hatchlings are released near the mother.