Photo: Fort Worth Zoo
The Fort Worth Zoo announced the hatching of four critically endangered gharial crocodiles, the first in the zoo's 114-year history and only the second birth in US history. Efforts to breed gharials at the Fort Worth Zoo have been ongoing for more than a decade. Of the 35 gharial crocodiles living in US zoos, four are at the Fort Worth Zoo including one male and three females. All the Fort Worth gharials are 42-43 years old and gharial crocodiles can live up to 50-60 years, so it's possible the zoo could develop future clutches and hatchlings. "They're just a very unique crocodilian species with the long, skinny snout, their big eyes, even the texture of their skin is different than other crocodilians," said Zac Foster, supervisor of ectotherms. The crocodiles, fish eaters that are native to South Asia, spend most of their time in the water, coming onto land to lay eggs and warm their bodies. By some estimates, there are roughly 1,000 gharials left in the wild.
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