A gharial at Assam zoo. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Oct. 8: Hunted since time immemorial thanks to the mistaken belief that these crocodiles attack humans, the long-nosed gharial had disappeared from the rivers of Assam nearly a decade back. But, much to the surprise and delight of wildlife experts, this aquatic reptile has made a comeback.

Two sightings were reported on two different occasions earlier this year. But experts had their first brush with a gharial just a few days ago, on the Brahmaputra at Chapor near Dhubri. The sighting has been recorded on video.

The last authentic record of a gharial find in the Brahmaputra river system was in 1999, when one of these reptiles was accidentally caught in a fisherman’s net near Guwahati. That gharial, rescued by wildlife experts, is currently housed at the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati. It was generally believed that it would go down in history as the last of the species ever seen in Assam.

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), sometimes called the Indian gharial or gavial, is a crocodile-like reptile with long, narrow jaws.

Wildlife enthusiast Firoz Ahmed — who looks after the herpetological research and conservation division of environmental NGO Aaranyak — said the video footage was taken on September 25, after villagers reported sighting a gharial.

“The sighting has made us believe that the gharial is making a comeback. The approaching winter would be a good opportunity to survey the species in parts of the Brahmaputra river system, when the water level goes down,” Ahmed added.

“One of our volunteers informed us about the gharial. We rushed to the location and could see some 300 people on the spot. We ran a 1,000-metre race through paddy fields and marshes before we could see the surfacing gharial. However, as soon as the reptile surfaced, there was a roar from the hundreds of people who had gathered on the banks of the river,” Ahmed said, recalling the moment.

He explained that as the people were excited to sight the gharial, “we took the opportunity to make them aware about it and its behaviour. We also put up posters at prominent places to make the people aware about gharials and their behaviour, trying to reassure them that the gharial is not a dangerous animal. We tried to remove the belief from their minds that the gharial eats humans.”

The team has also started distributing leaflets with messages on the characteristics of the gharial and its importance in riverine ecosystems.

Before that, reports of gharial sightings were received from the Jinjiram river valley in Goalpara district in the first week of July 2007. However, these could not be authenticated.

The gharial is mostly found in Bhutan, where it is almost extinct, and Bangladesh, where it is close to extinction. In India, too, the reptile has been put on the list of endangered species.