37 gharials sighted in Beas, conservation efforts bear fruit

Punjab’s wildlife conservation has started showing results with critically endangered gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) sighted successful the Beas — upstream of Talwara successful Hoshaipur and Pakistan’s Punjab province.

According to a census survey conducted by the Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation successful collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India from March to April 2025, a full of 37 gharials had been sighted crossed 22 chiseled locations successful the Beas.

Now sub adults, “gharials volition laic eggs successful immoderate years from, frankincense further adding to their numbers”.

Gitanjali Kanwar, elder coordinator of the WWF-India, said, “From December 2017 to December 2021, a full of 94 juvenile gharials were reintroduced successful 5 batches into the Beas. They were translocated from the Gharial Breeding Centre astatine Deori, Morena, Madhya Pradesh.”

Once commonly recovered successful the rivers of Punjab and locally known arsenic Sansar, gharials had go extinct successful the past 3 decades.

To reconstruct this apex aquatic species, the Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation, Punjab, launched the reintroduction task successful 2017 successful the recently declared Beas Conservation Reserve, pursuing the IUCN reintroduction protocols. The inaugural received method enactment from the WWF-India.

To measure the occurrence of the inaugural and survey situation usage and organisation patterns, yearly pre and post-monsoon monitoring is conducted jointly by the section and WWF-India.

Dharminder Sharma, Principal Chief Conservator of the Forests, said, “In a bid to fortify community-led conservation, the section is expanding its web of Beas Mitars and Gharial Mitars — section volunteers assisting successful monitoring and consciousness efforts. These grassroots networks play a pivotal relation successful ensuring the semipermanent endurance of gharials and ecological integrity of the Beas.” Last year, a gharial was sighted successful Pakistan’s Punjab state for the archetypal clip successful 3 decades. Gharials were mentioned to beryllium extinct successful astir of Pakistan’s rivers successful 1978, according to the Pakistan Wildlife Conservation Strategy Report.

“The reasons attributed were operation of barrages, amerciable sidesplitting for tegument commercialized and the usage of gill nett for their capture. Our efforts are to guarantee much earthy situation for gharials,” said Sharma.