CHHATBIR ZOO: Never before had critically-endangered gharials undertaken a journey so long to facilitate a re-introduction/re-stocking programme in India. It was time to cheer when 20 female and five male Gharials from Morena in Madhya Pradesh passed their first test with flying colours, having spent 12 hours on road at night in specially-designed cages to reach the zoo without mishap or injury. The journey was 600 km, nearly double the distance that WWF-India and Turtle Survival Alliance had earlier transported gharial batches to release sites in India.
This did not constitute the only landmark for Morena gharials. They are scheduled for release into the Harike-Beas river system at Gagdewal Rakhh later this month, marking the restoration of the species gone extinct in Punjab and the Indus river system after nearly six decades. While the species has been successfully re-introduced in the Ganga river system, gharials are still missing from the sub-continent's other two systems, the Indus and Brahmputra. "The re-introduction of gharials on the Beas will constitute a historic landmark for conservation. For many decades, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has sought gharial's re-introduction on the sub-continent's three river systems. The Pakistan government is also working to re-introduce gharial at the Indus's Sukkur barrage. However, India has taken the lead and Harike will mark the gharial's first re-introduction on the Indus system," crocodilian expert Dr B C Choudhury told TOI, following his three-day inspection of the Beas release sites.
Since gharials have shown resilience over a 12-hour journey in cold weather, the 4.5-hour transport time to Harike in near future will not pose major problems. "The transport of wild species is a challenge that only zoo staff realize. We paid a lot of attention to detail while planning gharial transport. For example, we prepared cages in advance and let paint dry so that fumes do not affect them. We also made sure we used unleaded paint, which has lesser quantities of heavy metals. No nails were used as they can tear gharial skin during transit. The cages were specially padded at both ends. After a brainstorming session with my staff, I decided to transport them at night as it would fit with their biological clock and the gharials would be less restless. The cage for transport had to be neither too big nor too small. A cage too big can afford room for the gharial to go into a death roll," zoo field director M Sudhagar told TOI.
The Morena-Chhatbir journey was so timed that the gharials were not kept in cages for more than 12 hours, as advised, and they reached the zoo early on Tuesday morning, just in time for quick release into the enclosure and exposure to the sun's emerging warmth. "Unlike herbivores and carnivores, whom we feed during transportation, the gharials are fed 24 hours before they undertake the journey and not fed during transit. We specially sent our veterinary officer, Dr Ashish Kumar, and veterinary assistant, John Daniels, to accompany the gharials back. Our veteran zoo keeper Aporba Deka sat with the gharials in the truck's back to observe any ruckus in the cages, which indicates distress. It is not feasible to open cages periodically during transit to check gharials as it lets light into the box. If light pours in, the gharials get active and present problems," zoo's block and education outreach officer, Harpal Singh, told TOI.
The zoo's photographer and animal management division's staffer, Shivjot S Bhullar, photo-documented the journey from Morena. "During our journey, we stopped only once to let the driver have rest and tea. The truck was specially sealed with a double tarpaulin cover and divided into two portions so that the cages could be kept without piling one of top of the other, which is forbidden under Central Zoo Authority guidelines. Interestingly, the gharials were feeding on dead fish at Morena, but we put them on live fish, which they accepted immediately. Now, they refuse to eat dead fish!" Bhullar told TOI.
This did not constitute the only landmark for Morena gharials. They are scheduled for release into the Harike-Beas river system at Gagdewal Rakhh later this month, marking the restoration of the species gone extinct in Punjab and the Indus river system after nearly six decades. While the species has been successfully re-introduced in the Ganga river system, gharials are still missing from the sub-continent's other two systems, the Indus and Brahmputra. "The re-introduction of gharials on the Beas will constitute a historic landmark for conservation. For many decades, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has sought gharial's re-introduction on the sub-continent's three river systems. The Pakistan government is also working to re-introduce gharial at the Indus's Sukkur barrage. However, India has taken the lead and Harike will mark the gharial's first re-introduction on the Indus system," crocodilian expert Dr B C Choudhury told TOI, following his three-day inspection of the Beas release sites.
Since gharials have shown resilience over a 12-hour journey in cold weather, the 4.5-hour transport time to Harike in near future will not pose major problems. "The transport of wild species is a challenge that only zoo staff realize. We paid a lot of attention to detail while planning gharial transport. For example, we prepared cages in advance and let paint dry so that fumes do not affect them. We also made sure we used unleaded paint, which has lesser quantities of heavy metals. No nails were used as they can tear gharial skin during transit. The cages were specially padded at both ends. After a brainstorming session with my staff, I decided to transport them at night as it would fit with their biological clock and the gharials would be less restless. The cage for transport had to be neither too big nor too small. A cage too big can afford room for the gharial to go into a death roll," zoo field director M Sudhagar told TOI.
The Morena-Chhatbir journey was so timed that the gharials were not kept in cages for more than 12 hours, as advised, and they reached the zoo early on Tuesday morning, just in time for quick release into the enclosure and exposure to the sun's emerging warmth. "Unlike herbivores and carnivores, whom we feed during transportation, the gharials are fed 24 hours before they undertake the journey and not fed during transit. We specially sent our veterinary officer, Dr Ashish Kumar, and veterinary assistant, John Daniels, to accompany the gharials back. Our veteran zoo keeper Aporba Deka sat with the gharials in the truck's back to observe any ruckus in the cages, which indicates distress. It is not feasible to open cages periodically during transit to check gharials as it lets light into the box. If light pours in, the gharials get active and present problems," zoo's block and education outreach officer, Harpal Singh, told TOI.
The zoo's photographer and animal management division's staffer, Shivjot S Bhullar, photo-documented the journey from Morena. "During our journey, we stopped only once to let the driver have rest and tea. The truck was specially sealed with a double tarpaulin cover and divided into two portions so that the cages could be kept without piling one of top of the other, which is forbidden under Central Zoo Authority guidelines. Interestingly, the gharials were feeding on dead fish at Morena, but we put them on live fish, which they accepted immediately. Now, they refuse to eat dead fish!" Bhullar told TOI.
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