A crocodilian of the rivers of the northern Indian subcontinent, and among the longest of all, with a very long, narrow snout and 110 interlocking teeth built for catching fish. Adult males grow a pot-shaped knob on the snout tip, the "ghara" that gives the animal its name.
Quick answers
What is it?Reptile
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inAsia
HabitatRivers & lakes
ColoursOlive, Grey
SizeHuge
LengthFemales 2.6–4.5 m; males 3–6 m
WeightMales about 160 kg on average; large males 600–750 kg
Legs4
Covered inArmour
Lives ingroups
Lives for40–60 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Rivers of India and Nepal, with a few in Bangladesh; locally extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar.
- What it eats
- Mainly fish, swallowed whole; young eat insects, tadpoles and frogs, and adults also take small crustaceans.
- Conservation
- Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Its long, narrow snout and 110 interlocking teeth are built for catching fish, its main food.
It survives in only about 2% of its former range; in 2019 there were at most about 900 in the wild.
The male’s ghara lets it make a hissing sound that can be heard 75 m away.
Often confused with
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