Meet the explorer Gharial that travelled 1100 km from Nepal to India

When you hear about a crocodile, the first image that comes to your mind is that of a huge scary reptile, with vivacious eyes and scary teeth, basking in the sun or just waiting in the water. But have you ever heard of a croc that has taken a whiff of wanderlust and travelled far from the place it was supposed to be in? Turns out, a Gharial in Nepal did that and this odd story has now piqued netizens’ interest.

Shared on Twitter by Wildlife Trust India, the post shows the picture of the said Gharial. According to a blog link shared by the trust in the post’s caption, this fish-eating crocodile falls under the critically endangered species and was released into the wild in Nepal, only to be found 1100 km away in Hooghly, India. The croc apparently travelled for 61 days to reach Hooghly.

The picture also shows the scute markings on the croc’s tail that helped biologists identify it.

Read the detailed story here:

Posted on May 25, the croc’s voyage garnered some curious comments from netizens. While some were astonished, others wanted to know if the Gharial’s trip is still on.

“It’s amazing,” writes a Twitter user. “Is it marking territory or claiming what’s rightfully theirs?” asks another. “What is the current status of this Gharial?” enquires the third.

However, this reptile is not the first one to manage to achieve this feat. In 2015, another Gharial was said to cover a distance of 1000 km in 234 days.

What do you think of this unusual story?

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