🤯 Did You Know (click to read)
Gharials must surface regularly to breathe and can drown if trapped underwater.
Despite being one of the largest predators in its ecosystem, the gharial is highly vulnerable to entanglement in fishing nets. Its long, slender snout easily becomes trapped in gill nets set across river channels. Once entangled, the animal often drowns because it cannot surface to breathe. Bycatch mortality has been documented across its remaining range. Illegal and unregulated fishing intensifies the risk. Unlike natural predators, fishing gear operates continuously and indiscriminately. A single net can kill multiple individuals in a season.
💥 Impact (click to read)
The image is stark: a reptile evolved over millions of years undone by synthetic filament. Entanglement risk is amplified by the gharial’s feeding behavior in open water. Its specialized snout, optimized for fish capture, becomes a liability in net-dense rivers. Unlike habitat loss, which unfolds gradually, net mortality can remove breeding adults abruptly. Each drowned adult represents decades of lost reproductive potential.
This shift in predation pressure from natural rivals to industrial materials reflects broader ecological imbalance. Apex predators typically regulate ecosystems; here they are regulated by human technology. Effective conservation requires collaboration with fishing communities to modify gear or create no-net zones. The deadliest threat to this ancient predator is not another animal—it is infrastructure.
💬 Comments