A gharial can be distinguished by its long, thin snout. It is an Asian crocodilian that lives in clear freshwater river systems, congregating at river bends where the water is deeper. A gharial gets its name from ‘ghara’, a Hindi/Urdu word for pot.
Gharials are not suited for living on land. They spend most of the time in water and generally leave the water only to bask in the sun or to nest. They bask in the sun to regulate their body temperature. Gharials are experts in hunting fish underwater. They have sharp interlocking teeth and long narrow snouts, which meet little resistance in the water. Their snouts contain sensory cells that can detect vibrations in the water, which help them locate their prey. They mainly feed on crustaceans, small fish and frogs.
Gharials do not chew their prey, they swallow it, but they tear apart large fish before swallowing. Young gharials jerk their heads back to manoeuvre fish into their gullets, sliding them in head first.
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