Gharial

True Wild Life | Gharial | The gharial is a large-sized reptile found in the murky waters of Northern India and the surrounding countries. The gharial is closely related to other large reptiles including caimans and alligators, although the salt-water crocodile is believed to be the gharial's closest relative. The gharial is most commonly found in the calmer areas of the deep, fast-flowing rivers of the North Indian subcontinent. The gharial spends most of its time in the water as it is not well suited for a life on the land, due to its short legs.

The gharial (along with the larger adult salt-water crocodiles) is the longest of this group of large reptiles, with there having been reports of adult male gharials reaching more than six meters in length. The elongated snout of the gharial is ideal for catching fish in the water, and contains more than 50 sharp teeth. The gharial is a generally solitary predator and does not have the same terrifying reputation for eating humans as crocodiles do. Although the gharial has been known to show aggressive behaviour towards humans at times, the shape of the gharial's snout makes it difficult for the gharial to consume anything too big.

The gharial is a carnivorous animal and a dominant predator within its environment. The only time that this isn't the case is when the gharial share its territory with a large salt-water crocodile. Fish is the primary food of the gharial along with insects and occasionally small animals. Due to its large size, the gharial has no natural predators within its environment besides humans who hunt the gharial, often for leather or meat. The gharial has also been devastatingly affected by the increasingly levels of pollution in the water and is today considered to be critically endangered in the wild.

The female gharial makes their nests and lay their eggs during the dry season when the river shrinks exposing more the sand on the river banks. The female gharial lays between 30 and 50 eggs which are buried in a whole in the sand by her. The baby gharial emerge from the underground nest after a few months and are protected in the water by their mother for a few days, until they are able to fend for themselves.

Caiman

True Wild Life | Caiman | The caiman is a large aquatic reptile found in the swamps and tropical rivers that cover Central and South America. Although the caimans have much narrower bodies, they are most closely related to alligators and crocodiles. Caimans are found in a variety of habitats throughout Central and South America from marshes and swamps to mangrove rivers and lakes. As with other reptiles, caimans have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence.

Caimans range in size from the dwarf caiman which measures just over a meter in length, to the black caiman which can to grow to be nearly 5 meters long. The black caiman is the largest caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and lakes that surround the Amazon basin. There are six different species of caiman found throughout the watery, jungle habitats of Central and Southern America. The average length for most of the other caiman species if about 2.5 meters long.

The caiman is a carnivorous predators and, like the alligator and the crocodile, the caiman has a diet that consists of a great deal of fish. The caiman also hunts insects, birds and small mammals and reptiles. Due to the large size and ferocious nature of the caiman, it has few natural predators within its environment. Humans are the main predators of the caiman as they have been hunted for their meat and skin. Jaguars are the only other predator of the caiman.

Female caimans build a large nest in which to lay their eggs, which can be more than 1.5 meters wide. Female caimans lay between 10 and 50 eggs which hatch within about 6 weeks. Once they have hatched, the mother caiman takes her young to a shallow pool of water where they can learn how to hunt and swim.