Parental Duty

Gharials are fascinating creatures. One of the biggest in the crocodile family, they have distinguished, long, thin snouts with over 100 durable teeth that interlock.

While they appear a bit intimidating, their snouts have evolved to catch their preferred meal: fish. They often shy away from humans, minding their own business, (as we all should when we observe nature).

Gharials are also the most dedicated parents in the reptile family. When the eggs hatch, all the hatchlings are immediately enrolled into a high-security gharial daycare, where adults protect them from the dangers in and out of water.

As of 2019, these beautiful creatures were declared critically endangered, largely from human activities like hunting and fishing. In 1940, the gharial population declined by 98% due to humans hunting them for traditional medicine.

When you search “Are gharial…” among the first search recommendations is “Are gharial dangerous to humans?” How about we ask, “Are humans dangerous to gharials?” because the answer is undoubtedly a yes.

Before judging wildlife by their looks, we should instead consider what impact humans are having on their ways of living.

This award-winning photograph was shortlisted in the Planet Category of the COP28 Photography Competition, a collaboration between The Climate Tribe and the Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA). The Climate Tribe has partnered with HIPA to leverage the power of photography to inspire global awareness of sustainability and advance climate action.