Ken Gharial Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh
This My India
2019-04-25
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The Ken Gharial Sanctuary is one of the very limited number of sanctuaries in India that is sincerely dedicated to breeding programs and proper housing of Gharials, a cousin of the mighty crocodiles. The Ken Gharial Sanctuary is much smaller at 45 km of protected river with very limited sand banks. The gharial population here has not achieved breeding success. They are sometimes referred to as 'Indian Gharials' or 'Gavials' characterized by their exceedingly elongated and unbelievably slender snouts that invariably demarcates them from their evolutionary contemporaries, the crocodiles.
The Ken Gharial Sanctuary is situated at the meeting point of two rivers; Ken and Khudar. The Sanctuary is a popular destination for animal enthusiasts and the advantage of being positioned inside the premises of the Chattarpur district approximately 24 kilometers away from Khajuraho. The Gharial, chief attraction of the Ken Gharial Sanctuary is a rare breed of reptiles. Although they share a common line of evolutionary descent with the crocodiles, they are deficient in the robust jaw power and sheer skull strength that is vested to the crocodiles. But on the other hand the Gharials are proficient in trapping down wee fishes and supple body movements that is rarely seen in crocodiles.
Other species that can also be seen in the Ken Gharial Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh are mentioned below:- Chinkara, Cheetal, Wild Boar, Blue Bull or Nilgai and Peacock. Although the myths about the 'killer gharial' is obviously not true as their fragile jaws are virtually incompetent in consuming human beings and for that matter any large animal, but it is advisable to keep your safe distance from these creatures.
The gharial or Gavialis gangeticus is a crocodilian of the family Gavialidae, native to the Indian subcontinent and also called gavial and fish-eating crocodile. As the species has undergone both chronic long term and a rapid short-term declines it is listed as a Critically Endangered by IUCN. The gharial is one of three crocodilians native to India, apart from the mugger crocodile and the saltwater crocodile.
It is one of the longest of all living crocodile species. As do all large crocodilians, the gharial starts out life fairly small. Hatchlings measure approximately long 37 cm and the average body weight of the species is from 159 to 250 kg. Males commonly attain a total length of 3 to 5 ms, while females are smaller and reach a body length of up to 2.7 to 3.75 ms.
Gharials are arguably the most thoroughly aquatic of the extant crocodilians, and adults apparently do not have the ability to walk in a semi-upright stance as other crocodilians do. They are typically residents of flowing rivers with deep pools that have high sand banks and good fish stocks. According to IUCN, there has been a population decline of 96--98% over a three-generation period since 1946, and the once widespread population of an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 individuals has been reduced to a very small number of widely spaced subpopulations of fewer than 235 individuals in 2006. The drastic decline in the gharial population can be attributed to a variety of causes including over-hunting for skins and trophies, egg collection for consumption, killing for indigenous medicine, and killing by fishermen.
Courtesy: Wikipedia & http://www.mapsofindia.com/madhya-pradesh/wildlife-tours/ken-gharial-wildlife-sanctuary.html
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at rupindang (at) gmail.com and [email protected]
The Ken Gharial Sanctuary is situated at the meeting point of two rivers; Ken and Khudar. The Sanctuary is a popular destination for animal enthusiasts and the advantage of being positioned inside the premises of the Chattarpur district approximately 24 kilometers away from Khajuraho. The Gharial, chief attraction of the Ken Gharial Sanctuary is a rare breed of reptiles. Although they share a common line of evolutionary descent with the crocodiles, they are deficient in the robust jaw power and sheer skull strength that is vested to the crocodiles. But on the other hand the Gharials are proficient in trapping down wee fishes and supple body movements that is rarely seen in crocodiles.
Other species that can also be seen in the Ken Gharial Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh are mentioned below:- Chinkara, Cheetal, Wild Boar, Blue Bull or Nilgai and Peacock. Although the myths about the 'killer gharial' is obviously not true as their fragile jaws are virtually incompetent in consuming human beings and for that matter any large animal, but it is advisable to keep your safe distance from these creatures.
The gharial or Gavialis gangeticus is a crocodilian of the family Gavialidae, native to the Indian subcontinent and also called gavial and fish-eating crocodile. As the species has undergone both chronic long term and a rapid short-term declines it is listed as a Critically Endangered by IUCN. The gharial is one of three crocodilians native to India, apart from the mugger crocodile and the saltwater crocodile.
It is one of the longest of all living crocodile species. As do all large crocodilians, the gharial starts out life fairly small. Hatchlings measure approximately long 37 cm and the average body weight of the species is from 159 to 250 kg. Males commonly attain a total length of 3 to 5 ms, while females are smaller and reach a body length of up to 2.7 to 3.75 ms.
Gharials are arguably the most thoroughly aquatic of the extant crocodilians, and adults apparently do not have the ability to walk in a semi-upright stance as other crocodilians do. They are typically residents of flowing rivers with deep pools that have high sand banks and good fish stocks. According to IUCN, there has been a population decline of 96--98% over a three-generation period since 1946, and the once widespread population of an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 individuals has been reduced to a very small number of widely spaced subpopulations of fewer than 235 individuals in 2006. The drastic decline in the gharial population can be attributed to a variety of causes including over-hunting for skins and trophies, egg collection for consumption, killing for indigenous medicine, and killing by fishermen.
Courtesy: Wikipedia & http://www.mapsofindia.com/madhya-pradesh/wildlife-tours/ken-gharial-wildlife-sanctuary.html
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at rupindang (at) gmail.com and [email protected]
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