The gharial is one of the most endangered crocodilians, dependent on large clean river systems that are being degraded by human activity, causing severe individual and population-level welfare harm.
Gharial welfare is inextricably linked to river health. These specialized crocodilians cannot adapt to degraded river conditions — they need clean, fast-flowing water, sandy banks for nesting, and abundant fish. River dams eliminate the flowing water sections they require. Sand mining destroys nesting habitat. Fishing nets cause drowning. The severity of their decline — from thousands to under 1,000 adults — means every individual death is a significant conservation event. Protecting wild population welfare requires addressing river governance, sand mining regulation, and fishing gear modification in their Ganges and Chambal River strongholds.