Chambal : The land of the Gharial.

[TwoRivers]

Nice, Prashant. Just one question. Skimmers, hence their English name, typically feed by skimming over the surface of the water, lower beak submerged, scooping up insects and small fish. Would surprise me if the Indian variety were differently adapted.

[xl_target]

Great photos, Prashant.
It looks like it might have been a very enjoyable trip.

[timmy]

Prashantji, thanks for putting the countryside into pictures for us. It helps to understand your words and appreciate the nature!

[prashantsingh]

Nice, Prashant. Just one question. Skimmers, hence their English name, typically feed by skimming over the surface of the water, lower beak submerged, scooping up insects and small fish. Would surprise me if the Indian variety were differently adapted.

I guess you are right.
I actually saw one digging into the sand with it's bottom up right next to this flock . Will try and crop that snap n put it here.

This part of the river devides Rajasthan from Madhya Pradesh. The river then flows into Uttar Pradesh and joins the Yamuna.
The silver lining is that the Rajasthan Govt has built a pipe line from their side of the river which supplies water to the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

Ashokgodara
That is a magar . You can easily differentiate the two.
The gharial derives its name from the earthen pot "gara". It has that big head with a long snout. The male has a big bulge on the tip of the nose. The moment we entered the river we saw this big male gharial. I took a couple of snaps. They have not come out well since the light was poor. Will put them up as well.

[Oggie]

Lovely Post Prashant ! You have a great style of narration that makes the story come alive

[brihacharan]

> Thanks guys for posting those wonderful pictures
> Makes one feel to pack one's bags & head for the Chambal!
> I fervently hope that the forest dept / wildlife authorities go all out to preserve this nature's gift to mankind....
Briha

[Hammerhead]

Thanks for posting

Spent a good amount of my life in that part of the country. Still have some property in Gwalier. I met Vijay Raheh Sidhih ( The Queen Mother) when I was 14

Morina, that's where my first driving licence was. And Chambal, that's where I got my first and only Neelgai. With Army's SLR, Funny hah..? Will write more later, those days my friend were .............Mmmmmmm Sweet !!!

[Baljit]

Hello Guy's.

Today, I received few more pictures from Prashant and I am posting these pictures behalf of him.
Prashant will explain to all of you guy's.















Enjoy.
Baljit

[prashantsingh]

Thanks Baljit
1.Indian Skimmer digging into the sand to look for grub. (left)
2.Female Gharial
3. Male gharial. Check out the big growth at the tip of the nose. That differentiates a male from a female.
4. Chambal revines. This snap was taken on my last trip 3 years ago on a bright day.
5. Shergarh fort.
6.That's my father's snap taken when the bridge was constructed. Sometime in the 1960's. Madhya Pradesh had some great hunting blocks those days. That's his friend and classmate Dr Jagjit Singh from Malaysia.
7.The same overcrowded bridge today.

[Pran]

Posting some more pics on behalf of Doc-







Regards
Pran

[prashantsingh]

Thanks Baljit and Pran for putting up the snaps.

1.& 2. Bridge
3. Riverside Camp.

Ancient Hindus considered rivers sacred. Where there were Rivers there was water and where there was water there was life.
Even today a lot of hindus (mostly living in rural areas) throw coins as offerings to the rivers.

Now for the last part of my trip.
If you zoom into the first snap (below that big water tank) , you will see a young boy on a make shift raft. The raft was made out of a truck tyre tube. When our boat was coming back to the camp I saw this boy paddling though with a magnet attached to a long string. On close observation I realised that he was fishing out coins thrown by people crossing the bridge.
When the boat got close to him I said "Paani Me Magar Hai". (There are crocs in the water).
The boy said "I know. But they don't come near the bridge. I have been doing this for a long time".
Hats Off to this little fellow.
I would never dare paddle around on an inflated tube in a Croc infested river.
But then I guess poverty forces one to go beyond and do things one would otherwise never do.

[timmy]

Prashantji, how large do these magars and gharials get? Will the gharials threaten people, as well?

It looks like another bridge is being built next to the first one -- is that right?

Throwing coins in the water has a benefit, at least!

This looks like a great area to explore -- do people float the river, or hike the wildlife areas?

[prashantsingh]

Prashantji, how large do these magars and gharials get? Will the gharials threaten people, as well?
It looks like another bridge is being built next to the first one -- is that right?
Throwing coins in the water has a benefit, at least!
This looks like a great area to explore -- do people float the river, or hike the wildlife areas?

Yes timmy. That's a new bridge coming up .

If I am in water I would be more scared of the magar than the gharial.

The gharial is basically a fish eater and it's long snout prevents it from eating larger game. Though it can cause much damage (to humans) with its razor sharp teeth and power......If one gets too close to them.
The big male we saw was at least 15 feet . They grow to bigger sizes. A grand uncle of mine shot a gharial way back in the 1950's which is over 16 feet. It is beautifully preserved and I have a snap somewhere sitting next to it. That fellow was shot in the Ganga Khadar.

[chengis gun]

am wondering, with the arid landscape and scanty wildlife, how do such populations of crocs manage to survive? will the river support enough fish flowing thro such unfertile land for the gharials..or have they both survived via scavenging on human and domestic animal carcasses?

[prashantsingh]

am wondering, with the arid landscape and scanty wildlife, how do such populations of crocs manage to survive? will the river support enough fish flowing thro such unfertile land

You will be surprised at how fertile the land is. Wherever the revines have been leveled . There are lush green aggricultural field. Tube well irrigation.
There are a number of species of birds and animals and enough fish in the water. Lots of quail, partridge and antelopes. A couple of years ago I heard of a tigress which had strayed out of Ranthambore and reached Chambal.