the.com/gharial
the crocodile that traded jaw-power for a snout built like surgical chopsticks.
means A long, slender-snouted crocodilian native to the rivers of the Indian subcontinent, distinguished by its narrow, fish-catching jaws and (in males) a bulbous growth on the tip of the snout.
from From Hindi 'ghariyal,' the name for this reptile, traditionally linked to 'ghara'—an earthenware pot—after the rounded, pot-like bump on the snout of the adult male. The English spelling 'gharial' is an anglicized version; the once-common variant 'gavial' is generally considered a transcription slip that stuck.
- snout job
- Thin jaws snap sideways through water to catch fish
- nose bulb
- Males grow a pot-shaped nose called a ghara
- land lubber
- Too weak-legged to walk; basically belly-drags on shore
- near gone
- Fewer than a thousand adults survive in the wild
- big guy
- Can stretch beyond five meters, rivaling saltwater crocs
national chambal sanctuary — protected river stretch in india where ~400 gharials live, established 1979
kukkarahalli lake — artificial lake in mysore, india housing one of largest captive gharial populations for breeding