A Gharial Papa on patrol......

This interesting video was filmed by myself during the nesting surveys in Boksar in 2008. Before the Kalagarh Dam was built in 1974, Boksar was known for being breeding grounds for the gharial.......after its submergence in 1974 it was expected that breeding would never occur here due to lack of sand banks for nesting.....however, in summer as the reservoir water levels decrease in a horizontal and vertical manner.....many areas in Boksar were exposed with sand being deposited between the rock folds of the Shivalik mountains....these mini sandbanks were used by gharial for nesting and I did find a gharial nest here in 2008........Well, while passing Boksar to visit other areas for the nesting surveys, I often stopped at this nest site to see if all was well.





  During these surveys, I noticed an adult gharial male patrolling this area keeping a watch on me obviously displaying its protective nature towards it's nest.......this is often called Parental Care and I was fortunate to see it for real and this was perhaps for the first time during these surveys that I was able to document an adult male gharial involved in parental behaviour......This gharial papa and me often watched each other many a times when I visited the nest he was protecting in Boksar.........This short rare field video is a rare treat about of this unique crocodile behaviour in Corbett.......!!!



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