The country’s first gharial breeding center was inaugurated in Rajshahi, where, around 11am on Tuesday, two adult gharials—a male and a female—brought from the Gazipur Safari Park were released into the newly established facility at the Poba nursery.
The chief conservator from the Department of Forests, Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, officially inaugurated the center.
He said that river pollution, decreasing navigability, overfishing, illegal poaching and trafficking, egg destruction, and food scarcity have disrupted the reproduction of gharials. These reasons have brought the species to the brink of extinction. The breeding center in Rajshahi aims to help preserve the species.
According to sources, the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a gentle aquatic creature, scientifically distinct from other crocodilian species due to its long, narrow snout and perfect adaptation to an aquatic lifestyle. Once, gharials freely roamed the Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, and Brahmaputra rivers of Bangladesh. But over time, due to environmental degradation and human activity, they have nearly vanished.
Pollution, overfishing, poaching, destruction of nesting sites, and loss of shelter during breeding seasons have all contributed to their rapid decline in numbers. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed it under Appendix I of CITES, marked it as highly protected species from commercial exploitation. Under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act of 2012, it is also a protected species.
“We will not stop at conservation. Through breeding at this center, we aim to build a stable population and eventually release them into suitable rivers at the right timel,” said the Deputy Chief Conservator of Forest (Current Charge) & Project Director Gobinda Roy, from the Agargaon Forest Department in Dhaka.
Md Rafikuzzaman Shah, an official of the Rajshahi Social Forest Division and the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, said: “The country’s first gharial breeding center has been established in Rajshahi. Breeding a sensitive and critically endangered species like the gharial is not easy. It requires intensive monitoring, scientific management, and long-term planning. This center will also serve as an educational site. Research on gharial breeding will be conducted in a pond at Poba, and the offspring will later be released into rivers.”
Experts emphasize that establishing a breeding center alone is not enough; natural habitats must also be made livable for gharials. There have been calls to create designated protected areas for gharials in large rivers like the Padma and Jamuna.
It is known that the Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, and Brahmaputra rivers were once safe havens for gharials in this riverine country. However, this gentle aquatic reptile is now critically endangered.
The drastic decline in breeding rates has pushed the species to the edge of extinction.
Gharials are generally peaceful and beneficial aquatic animals. They are listed as protected under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act of 2012. Internationally, they are included in Appendix I of CITES and are categorized as “Critically Endangered.”
The English name for the species is Gharial, and the scientific name is Gavialis gangeticus.
This is not the first attempt at gharial conservation. On August 13, 2017, an initiative was taken to breed gharials in a pond at the Shaheed AHM Kamaruzzaman Central Park & Zoo in Rajshahi. At that time, two female gharials were rescued after being caught in fishing nets.
One was later sent to the Dhaka zoo and named “Jamuna.” Dhaka zoo had four male gharials, while Rajshahi received one male from Dhaka, named “Gorai.” The female gharial in Rajshahi was named “Padma.” Through this inter-zoo exchange, “Jamuna” in Dhaka received three potential mates, while “Padma” in Rajshahi received “Gorai.” However, no offspring were born over the past eight years due to an unsuitable breeding environment.
This time, through a joint initiative by IUCN and the Social Forestry Division, a breeding-friendly center has been established in Rajshahi. zoologists and environmentalists are hopeful that, if properly maintained, gharials can once again thrive in their natural habitats—like the Padma and Meghna rivers.
Professor of Zoology at Jahangirnagar University Dr Kamrul Hasan, Professor of Zoology at Rajshahi University Dr AM Saleh Reza, Conservator of Forests of the Bogura Social Forest Region Muhammad Subedar Islam, Conservator of Forests of the Dhaka Wildlife and Nature Conservation Region Md Sanaullah Patwari, and Pesident of Save the Nature and Life in Rajshahi Md Mizanur Rahman were present among others at the event.
