Odisha to conduct fresh survey to identify new habitats for gharials

CELEBRATING 50 years of 'Project Crocodile' in the state, the Odisha government on Tuesday announced to conduct a fresh survey to identify new potential habitats for gharial species of the reptile, population of which has been revived from the brink of extinction in the Mahanadi river system, after decades of struggle.

- SUDARSAN MAHARANA @ Bhubaneswar

The report 'Back from the brink - Conserving the Gharials of Mahanadi', released by the Forest, Environment and Climate Change department on the day as part of the celebration, stated that the comprehensive survey is proposed to re-evaluate existing threats, assess changes in river physiography, and identify potential new habitats for gharials.

Study of wild gharials - both adults and hatchlings - is also necessary to monitor their breeding dynamics, courtship, nesting, hatchling behaviour, maternal guarding, and dispersal patterns, the report underlined. Genetic study is also crucial for long-term survival of gharials in the Mahanadi river, it added.