It’s always an exciting day at a zoo when a new baby animal is born, especially when they’re a member of a critically endangered species. Each new arrival is an important step towards ensuring the species’ survival.
Now, the Forth Worth Zoo is celebrating a “groundbreaking moment in conservation history” after the first-ever consecutive hatching of critically endangered gharial crocodiles.
On Wednesday, the Fort Worth Zoo, in Texas, announced that they successfully hatched two new gharial crocodiles on June 16 and June 22.
The gharial crocodile, known for its long thin snout, is one of the largest crocodile species, and also one of the most endangered. The IUCN lists them as critically endangered, threatened by the destruction of their native river habitats.
Any new birth for a critically endangered species is a big deal, but these new hatchlings mark a historic first: the Fort Worth Zoo is now the only zoo to have repeated gharial breeding success.
In 2023, the zoo successfully hatched four gharial crocodiles, the first in their history becoming only the second US zoo to successfully breed the species and the first ever to hatch multiple offspring.
With these new arrivals, they are now also the only North American zoo to have back-to-back gharial hatchings, which they called a “groundbreaking moment in conservation history.”
“Everyone here at the Fort Worth Zoo is ecstatic to have repeated success with our gharial hatchings for the second year in a row,” Vicky Poole, associate curator of ectotherms, said in a press release. “Having two additional hatchlings is a big win for growing the gharial population in zoos and expanding knowledge to help this critically endangered species survive.”
The new arrivals were also born to two different females, which is important for diversifying the gene pool of the zoo’s gharials.
Though they’re currently tiny enough to fit in a zookeeper’s hands, these crocodiles will grow up mightily: male gharials grow up to 16 feet and can weigh 1,500 pounds, though females of the species are slightly smaller.
The hatchlings will remain behind the scenes during this early period of their development and zoo staff will be carefully monitoring their growth. But the 2023 hatchlings will be available for viewing at the zoo on July 27 and 28.
Congrats to the Fort Worth Zoo on the historic birth of these gharial crocodiles, a major conservation success for this critically endangered species!
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