Gharial conservation in Pakistan

Last updated

The Gharial ( Gavialis gangeticus ) is classified as a critically endangered species. Its last sighting in Pakistan was reported in 1985. [1] However, there have been recent reports indicating that the Gharial has been sighted once again, specifically in the Punjab region of Pakistan. [2] After reported sightings, the "Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary" has been designated as a protected area under the Punjab Protected Areas Act of 2020. [3] [4]

Contents

Recent Sightings

In May 2023, sightings of the Gharial were shared on social media, prompting the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan's wildlife team to conduct an investigation. [5] Following their survey, they confirmed the presence of Gharials in the area, including juvenile individuals. This event marked the first verified sighting of the species in Pakistan after a presumed absence of three decades. [2] [6] [7]

A survey team has confirmed the presence of about 10 gharials, including six baby crocodiles, in the Ganda Singh Wala area of the river. The team spotted a gharial measuring roughly 14 feet in length and two feet in width. There is speculation that these crocodiles might have migrated from India after the floods last year and have now started to reproduce in this area. Experts have noted that gharials mainly feed on fish and do not pose a threat to humans. [8]

Conservation Efforts

In response to these sightings, WWF-Pakistan is collaborating with the Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries department, Punjab and other partners to enhance conservation efforts for the Gharial. The primary objective is to guarantee the newly discovered population not only survives but also thrives in its habitat through dedicated conservation measures. [2] [9]

The conservation plan encompasses onsite monitoring in collaboration with security authorities. The main emphasis will be on executing efficient conservation measures and safeguarding the Gharials' habitat. This involves ensuring appropriate water quantity and quality, as well as managing ongoing fishing activities to protect their habitat effectively. [2] [10]

Reintroduction Program

Pakistan has formally requested the transfer of hundreds of Gharial crocodiles from Nepal as part of an initiative to reintroduce this species. [11] The government aims to reintroduce Gharials into the Nara Canal wetland system to enhance its biodiversity. Additionally, this reintroduction program is anticipated to generate income for local communities through wildlife tourism, presenting a potential economic opportunity tied to conservation efforts. [1]

Challenges

While there is local support for the reintroduction of Gharials in Pakistan, the request made to Nepal is confronted by several challenges. These hurdles encompass financial constraints and reservations regarding whether Pakistan has adequately addressed the conditions that initially resulted in the local extinction of the Gharial species. These concerns pose obstacles to the successful transfer and reintroduction of Gharials from Nepal to Pakistan. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Species reintroduction</span> Wildlife conservation technique

Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustaining population to an area where it has been extirpated, or to augment an existing population. Species that may be eligible for reintroduction are typically threatened or endangered in the wild. However, reintroduction of a species can also be for pest control; for example, wolves being reintroduced to a wild area to curb an overpopulation of deer. Because reintroduction may involve returning native species to localities where they had been extirpated, some prefer the term "reestablishment".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madras Crocodile Bank Trust</span> Herpetology research station in Chennai, India

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology (MCBT) is a reptile zoo and herpetology research station, located 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of the city of Chennai, in state of Tamil Nadu, India. The centre is both a registered trust and a recognized zoo under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and comes under the purview of the Central Zoo Authority, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. It was established with the aim of saving three Indian endangered species of crocodile—the marsh or mugger crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, and the gharial, which at the time of founding of the trust were all nearing extinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gharial</span> Crocodilian native to the Indian subcontinent

The gharial, also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are 2.6 to 4.5 m long, and males 3 to 6 m. Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial". The gharial is well adapted to catching fish because of its long, narrow snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siamese crocodile</span> Species of reptile

The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia, Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered and already extirpated from many regions. Its other common names include Siamese freshwater crocodile, Singapore small-grain, and soft-belly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chitwan National Park</span> National park in Nepal

Chitwan National Park is the first national park of Nepal. It was established in 1973 as the Royal Chitwan National Park and was granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 952.63 km2 (367.81 sq mi) in the subtropical Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal in Nawalpur, Chitwan, Makwanpur and Parsa Districts. It ranges in elevation from about 100 m (330 ft) in the river valleys to 815 m (2,674 ft) in the Sivalik Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Chambal Sanctuary</span> Wildlife sanctuary in India

National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400 km2 (2,100 sq mi) tri-state protected area in northern India for the protection of the Critically Endangered gharial, the red-crowned roof turtle and the Endangered Ganges river dolphin. Located on the Chambal River near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, it was first declared in Madhya Pradesh in 1978, and now constitutes a long narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states. Within the sanctuary, the pristine Chambal River cuts through mazes of ravines and hills with many sandy beaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands</span>

The Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands is a narrow lowland ecoregion at the base of the Himalayas, about 25 km (16 mi) wide, and a continuation of the Indo-Gangetic Plain in India, Nepal and Bhutan. It is colloquially called Terai in the Ganges Basin east to Nepal, then Dooars in West Bengal, Bhutan and Assam east to the Brahmaputra River. It harbours the world's tallest grasslands, which are the most threatened and rare worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khunjerab National Park</span> National park in Pakistan

Khunjerab National Park is a national park in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. Khunjerab National Park is Pakistan's third largest national park, and is adjacent to the Taxkorgan Natural Reserve in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardiya National Park</span> National Park of Nepal

Bardiya National Park is a protected area in Nepal that was established in 1988 as Royal Bardia National Park. Covering an area of 968 km2 (374 sq mi) it is the largest and most undisturbed national park in Nepal's Terai, adjoining the eastern bank of the Karnali River and bisected by the Babai River in the Bardiya District. Its northern limits are demarcated by the crest of the Siwalik Hills. The Nepalgunj-Surkhet highway partly forms the southern boundary, but seriously disrupts the protected area. Natural boundaries for human settlements are formed in the west by the Geruwa, a branch of the Karnali River, and in the southeast by the Babai River.

Kuno National Park is a national park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, India. It derives its name from Kuno River. It was established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary with an initial area of 344.686 km2 (133.084 sq mi) in the Sheopur and Morena districts. In 2018, it was given the status of a national park. It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Pakistan</span>

The wildlife of Pakistan comprises a diverse flora and fauna in a wide range of habitats from sea level to high elevation areas in the mountains, including 195 mammal, 668 bird species and more than 5000 species of Invertebrates. This diverse composition of the country's fauna is associated with its location in the transitional zone between two major zoogeographical regions, the Palearctic, and the Oriental. The northern regions of Pakistan, which include Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan include portions of two biodiversity hotspot, Mountains of Central Asia and Himalayas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of Pakistan</span> Overview of fauna in Pakistan

Pakistan's native fauna reflect its varied climatic zones. The northern Pakistan, which includes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, has portions of two biodiversity hotspots, Mountains of Central Asia and Himalayas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilibhit Tiger Reserve</span>

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is located in Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh and was notified as a tiger reserve in 2014. It forms part of the Terai Arc Landscape in the upper Gangetic Plain along the India-Nepal border. The habitat is characterized by sal forests, tall grasslands and swamp maintained by periodic flooding from rivers. The Sharda Sagar Dam extending up to a length of 22 km (14 mi) is on the boundary of the reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary</span> Protected area in Uttar Pradesh, India

Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established in 1986 and covers 2,073 km2 (800 sq mi) across Meerut, Muzzafarnagar, Ghaziabad, Bijnor, Meerut and Amroha districts. This area has not enjoyed protection needed to check poaching and various other threats to wildlife due to lack of proper notification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harike Wetland</span> Largest wetland in northern India

Harike Wetland also known as "Hari-ke-Pattan", with the Harike Lake in the deeper part of it, is the largest wetland in northern India in the border of Tarn Taran Sahib district and Ferozepur district of the Punjab state in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukit Tigapuluh National Park</span>

Bukit Tigapuluh National Park - The Thirty Hills - is a 143,223 hectare National Park in eastern Sumatra, consisting primarily of tropical lowland forest, largely in Riau province, with a smaller part of 33,000 ha in Jambi province. It is famous as one of the last refuges of endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant, and Asian tapir, as well as many endangered bird species. It forms part of the Tesso Nilo Complex biodiversity hotspot. The Park is inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the Orang Rimba and Talang Mamak tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forestry in Pakistan</span>

The forestry sector of Pakistan is a main source of lumber, paper, fuelwood, latex, medicine as well as food and provide ecotourism and wildlife conservation purposes. 4.91% of Pakistan's land is covered in forest.The Shangla district is the only district of Pakistan that composed of more than 80% of forest land

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indus river dolphin</span> Dolphin species found in the Indus River

The Indus river dolphin, also known as the bhulan in Urdu and Sindhi, is a species of toothed whale in the family Platanistidae. It is endemic to the Indus River Basin of Pakistan and northwestern India. This dolphin was the first discovered side-swimming cetacean. It is patchily distributed in five small, sub-populations that are separated by irrigation barrages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crocodile Breeding Centre, Kurukshetra</span> Wildlife breeding in Haryana, India

Bhor Saidan Crocodile Breeding Centre, managed by the Haryana Forests Department to captive breed and conserve the freshwater mugger crocodile native to India, is located at Bhor Saidan village on Kurukshetra-Pehowa Road in Kurukshetra district of Haryana in India. It is 13 km from the old Kurukshetra Bus Stand and 22 km from the new Kurukshetra Bus Stand in sector 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation in Pakistan</span>

Conservation in Pakistan is the act of preserving, guarding, or protecting, biodiversity, environment, and natural resources of Pakistan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Return of the king? Pakistan moves to bring gharials from Nepal to its rivers". Mongabay Environmental News. July 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Gharials in Pakistan- what we know so far". www.wwfpak.org.
  3. ↑ https://twitter.com/WWFPak/status/1698621834814795790?s=19
  4. ↑ "'Gharial' crocodiles discovered in Sutlej". 5 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Vibe, Mashriq (May 15, 2023). "Miraculous Rediscovery of Critically Endangered Gharial in Punjab Ignites Glimmer of Hope for Species' Astonishing Revival in Pakistan".
  6. ↑ "Sighting of extinct Gharial signals hope for species revival". The Express Tribune. May 15, 2023.
  7. ↑ "3 decades on, gharial spotted in Pakistan's Punjab waters : The Tribune India".
  8. ↑ "'Gharial' crocodiles discovered in Sutlej". The Express Tribune. June 5, 2023.
  9. ↑ Press, The Planetary (July 13, 2022). "Pakistan Moves to Reintroduce Critically Endangered Crocodilians Back to its Rivers". The Planetary Press.
  10. ↑ "Monitoring and assessment of gharial conservation initiatives". wwf.panda.org.
  11. ↑ "Pakistan to Transfer Hundreds of Gharial Crocodiles from Nepal to Reintroduce a Species last seen in Pakistan in 1985".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.