Despite the high number of hatchings, there are less than 200 adult breeding gharials in India.

India has achieved a 'gharial' feat in wildlife conservation. Reversing the rate of extinction, wildlife experts have recorded an unprecedented hatching of gharials and crocodiles in the Chambal Wildlife area this year.

As many as 2,340 gharial eggs have hatched in about 68 nests this year, the highest recorded since gharial conservation efforts began in 1975.

Chambal river accounts for the majority of gharial population in the country. Out of the 1,500 gharials in India, about 1,200 are found in the Chambal river alone.

In 2010-11, 1,009 offsprings hatched from around 32 nests, while in 2009-10, 1,131 juveniles emerged out of 32 nests. In 2008-09, the count of hatchings was around 1,000 in 30 nests while in the previous year 359 juveniles were born in about 15 nests. Though the numbers are impressive, not many juveniles survive make it to adulthood. Studies estimate the total number of breeding adult gharials in the country to be less than 200.

Native to the Indian sub-continent, the gharial, also known as the gavial or 'fish-eating' crocodile, is considered the only true descendant of the ancient crocodilian family that existed on Earth some 100 million years ago. The gharial is one of the three crocodilians found in the world. The other two are mugger and saltwater crocodile.

Gharials are characterised by their long snout and grow up to three to five metres. A carnivore, gharials can easily haul humans though they find it difficult to swallow them, owing to their thin and fragile jaws.

The gharials were once abundant in all river systems of the Indian sub-continent, enjoying a habitat spread over some 1,100 river km over a geographic area of 20,000 sq km. The majority of the population was concentrated on the northern mass of the subcontinent - from the Indus river system in the west to Irrawaddy in the east. Rough estimates put the gharial population between 5,000 to 10,000 in the 1940s.

However, owing to a lack of proper attention and conservation efforts, the population of gharials plummeted to less than 200 by 1975. They ceased to exist in major rivers such as Indus, Brahmaputra and Irrawaddy.

Worried by the fall in numbers, the Indian government launched 'Project Crocodile' in 1975. Over the next 30 years, some 5,000 gharials were bred and released into potential river systems across the country. Consequently, the species showed some recovery and its population rose to 1,500.

Gharial has been declared 'critically endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is also listed in Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, which includes animals such as rhinoceroses, elephants, lions, tigers and snakes.

According to Sujoy Banerjee, deputy conservator of forests, National Chambal Wildlife Division, Agra, the species faced a major threat in 2007 when around 150 adult gharials died because of reasons still unknown. But the crisis now appears to have been overcome. The number of nests protected this year has gone up to 68 from 15 in 2007-08.

"Our staff have kept roundthe-clock vigil on the banks of Chambal river during nesting season (March-May). Once the female gharials lay eggs and leave, the nests are identified. They are then enclosed with square wire mesh to ward off dogs, jackals and other animals, which dig and destroy the eggs," Banerjee said.

He added: "Mortality is usually higher in young gharials as they get washed away in floods, a usual phenomenon in the Chambal river, but this year appears to be an exception. While there has been an exceptionally high hatching of gharials, rains have been scant and delayed, providing enough time for the hatch to grow up and survive in the Chambal stream."

Abundance of fish, less human interference and pollution (no industries) in Chambal's wildlife have been the primary reasons behind the significant rise in the number of crocodiles.

The Uttar Pradesh government is keen to harness the untapped tourism potential of the National Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary, which is co-administered by Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. UP has 150 km of the river sanctuary along Bah (Agra) and Etawah. The sanctuary is situated around 77 km from Taj Mahal. A plan is being prepared to attract Taj-bound tourists to Chambal sanctuary by offering a river cruise and safari.

For now, the wildlife experts are keeping their fingers crossed on the survival rate of the newborn gharials in the Chambal sanctuary.