gharial

tags: conservation, reptiles, King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, Gharial, Gavialis gangeticus, water pollution, Romulus+Whitaker, TEDTalks, streaming video The gharial, Gavialis gangeticus, and king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, are two of India's most iconic reptiles, and they're endangered because of polluted waterways. Conservationist Romulus Whitaker shows rare footage of these magnificent animals and urges us to save the rivers that sustain their lives and our own. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers…
tags: Gavial, Gharial, Gavialis gangeticus, reptiles, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife I think this is a Gharial (also known as a Gavial), Gavialis gangeticus, as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop (A-B-C) at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash). Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size]. Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
Today's photo comes from the National Zoo in Washington D.C., the only place where I have seen the Gavial (Gavialis gangeticus) in captivity. This crocodylian is one of the most endangered in the world, and the National Zoo has a male and female pair (and I can only assume that the zoo staff hopes the two will breed). The above photograph is the female, males of the species having a bulbous growth or "ghara" on the tip of their snout. Outside of being a signal as to which sex an adult belongs, the ghara is also used in vocalizations the male makes and blowing bubbles during mating displays,…