Page 39 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

GHARIAL 39

Clean, fast rivers,with deep pools and sand banks for resting These distinctive-looking crocodiles don’t like to hurry. Rather
and basking on, are the gharials’ favourite hunting grounds. than pursue prey, they prefer to lie in wait for a passing meal.

Once this catfish is within easy reach, our cautious Its narrow snout is the perfect shape for manipulating slippery
crocodile strikes – with open jaws ready to seize the fish and,with a few well-judged movements, the catfish is
unsuspecting fish. quickly gulped down.

Earth. During this time, their bodies have adapted to suit these stocky crocodiles can use their short but strong legs
their habits and habitats.They have a super-efficient four- to raise their muscular bodies up off the ground and
chambered heart, which enables them to stay submerged charge forwards with surprising speed. Gharials, though,
for long periods of time.Their throats have a slitlike valve, are true specialists.Water is their natural element and on
which closes underwater, so that they can eat without land they are so clumsy they can manoeuvre only by
drowning.Their eyes and nostrils are positioned towards dragging their bellies along the ground.Their leg muscles
the top of their head so that they can see and breathe cannot lift their body off the ground. Once they are
while the rest of their body lies submerged in the shallows. submerged in fast-flowing waters, though, it’s a different
They also have fantastic eyesight, with vertical pupils that story.Their feet possess extensive webbing and their tail is
widen in the dark to aid night-time hunting. powerful and well developed, with a laterally flattened
However, being a specialist does have its drawbacks. design that cuts through water with ease. Gharials are so
Some crocodilians are equally at home in and out of the agile in the water that they can even use their bodies to
water. Nile crocodiles, for instance, are both superb corral fish into the shallows, where they can be more easily
swimmers and alarmingly fast runners.When they need to, snapped up and gulped down.

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.