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The Brief
- The Fort Worth Zoo successfully hatched two critically endangered gharial crocodiles this summer.
- This marks the third consecutive year of gharial hatchlings at the zoo, making it the only institution in North America to achieve this.
- The new hatchlings are genetically significant, contributing to the diversification of the species’ gene pool in managed care.
FORT WORTH, Texas – The Fort Worth Zoo is celebrating a significant conservation achievement after successfully hatching two critically endangered gharial crocodiles this summer, marking the third consecutive year of hatchlings for the species. This makes the Fort Worth Zoo the only institution in North America to have produced multiple offspring of gharials and to have done so for three years in a row.
New Crocodile Hatchlings
Big picture view:
The two new hatchlings, which emerged on June 5 and June 11, are the result of nearly 15 years of dedicated effort to breed the species and diversify its gene pool. Gharials are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to threats like habitat destruction, pollution, and river fragmentation.…