WWF Affirms the Presence of Gharials in Punjab, Pakistan
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Loading... - Faraj Dutt
- 14 Jun 2023
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WWF-Pakistan has officially confirmed the presence of gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) in the province of Punjab. This confirmation signifies the return of the unique crocodilian species to an area from which it had once disappeared.
Upon receiving reports of critically endangered Gharials sightings on social media, WWF-Pakistan's wildlife team promptly conducted an investigation in Punjab, Pakistan. The subsequent survey confirmed the presence of Gharials in the region, and it was particularly exciting to observe juvenile individuals after an assumed absence of thirty years. This revelation was shared by the organization through a statement on their website.
In light of this discovery, WWF-Pakistan aims to intensify conservation efforts to ensure the survival and thriving of the newly identified gharial population. Local fishermen also informed the WWF-Pakistan team about unconfirmed gharial sightings near the Ravi River in Okara and Head Sulemanki, located just two kilometers from the Indian border along the Satluj River, approximately a year ago.
Although these incidents were not reported at the time, they provide further evidence supporting the significance of the recent observations, as stated in the WWF-Pakistan's statement. Jamshed Iqbal Chaudhry, the senior manager of research and conservation at WWF-Pakistan, expressed optimism about the confirmation of gharial presence in Punjab, including the sighting of both adult and juvenile individuals. He believes it is an encouraging sign and indicates the potential survival of these remarkable reptiles in Pakistan.
Officials from the Punjab Wildlife Department have joined forces with WWF and local non-profit organizations to visit the site. They are now in the process of formulating an action plan that involves various stakeholders.
The viral video posted on Twitter by Bilal Mustafa, a postgraduate researcher affiliated with the Wildlife Conservation and Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford, on May 14, 2023, contributed to drawing attention to the issue. The video depicted a couple of men, likely fishermen, attempting to free a struggling gharial. Mustafa speculated that the animal may have migrated from India's Punjab, where 94 gharials were released into the Beas River in the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Hoshiarpur between 2017 and 2021.
