Gharials are critically endangered crocodilians with fewer than 200 breeding adults. Their welfare depends on river restoration and protection from fishing nets.
Gharial welfare faces acute threats from fishing net entanglement and habitat destruction. Net-caught gharials may drown immediately or sustain injuries that impair their ability to feed and swim. Sand mining destroys the sandy riverbank nesting beaches they require, causing failed reproduction — a welfare harm to both adults whose reproductive effort is wasted and to eggs that fail to develop. River restoration programs that reduce sand mining and establish protected river corridors provide the habitat security gharials need. Their long snouts are adapted for fish-catching only — they cannot take alternative prey — making fish availability in clean rivers another critical welfare requirement.