Brothers from different mothers: Crocodile, Alligator and Ghariyal: Read to know about the dangerous reptiles.

“Let us be ready at 5 and start for Kukrail picnic spot”, announced my uncle, who is a true morning person. We were visiting our maternal place as our summer vacation routine, and both my uncles relished the Sunday family outing with all of us kids. Kukrail often used to be the obvious choice, being around 7 Km from our place. The boys, all excited about the cricket game at the picnic spot, were always ready on time but the sisters found one or the other excuse to be late. Morning sleep is the first love they say.

After the cricket match and breakfast, a walk to the crocodile breeding center at Kukrail followed. As young kids, we were always excited on how the crocodiles spent most of their time doing nothing and hardly ever moved. What a life! We would wish. One thing we always noticed about them was that if one croc moved, all others around it moved as well. We would head back to home after spending few minutes on the swings. A day well started is a day well spent.

Kukrail, a forest reserve in Uttar Pradesh has a breeding center for crocodile, specially a specific species called Ghariyal. The breeding center was started in year 1978, when only 300 ghariyals were left.

Ghariyal, the long snouted, fish eating reptile of order Crocodilia and family Gavialidae, is a native of northern India. As the global wild population is around 235, it is critically endangered as per IUCN red list (Vultures are also critically endangered, read to know why). It has a thin and long snout which helps in catching fish, its main diet. It averages 11 to 15 feet in length, with maximum recorded length of 20.5 feet. It is the longest among all the living crocodilians.

Ghariyals : Notice the thin long snout

Alligator, on the other hand can be identified by its U-shaped snout and no visible lower jaw teeth when its jaws are closed. Belonging to family Alligatoridae, it has two living species, American Alligator and Chinese Alligator. It grows up to 13 to 14 feet, while the maximum recorded length is 19.2 feet. While the younger ones feed on fish and other small water animals, the fully grown can take on larger preys, such as deer. Alligators don’t usually attack humans unprovoked but can do so in self-defense.

An alligator : notice the U-shaped snout

The big brother, crocodile, however, is known to attack humans even without provoking. They have a V-shaped snout that helps in catching fish. When their jaw is closed, the fourth tooth of lower jaw is visible, which is can be used to distinguish it from alligators. Belonging to family Crocodylidae, their size varies from 5 to 6.2 feet for dwarf crocodiles to 23 feet for saltwater crocodiles. They usually hunt at night and have a very good night vision. Crocodiles are the strongest in terms of jaw strength and the most dangerous among other crocodilians.

Crocodile: Notice the visible lower tooth when jaws are closed

	Crocodile	Alligator	Ghariyal
Jaw	Upper and lower jaw are of same shape and size. Lower teeth visible when jaws are closed	Upper jaw larger than lower jaw. Lower teeth not visible when jaws are closed	Long jaws of nearly same size.
Snout	V-shaped, easier to catch fish.	U-shaped, easier to catch larger prey	Long and thin, easier to catch fish
Habitat	Can survive in both fresh and sea water but prefers sea water	Can survive in both fresh and sea water but prefers fresh water	Fresh water, mainly in rivers of Indian sub- continent.
Attack on humans	Can attack even without any provocation	Do not attack unprovoked. Can attack for self defense	Do not attack humans

Nerd Note 1 : Ghariyal gets its name from a distinctive structure at end of its snout, which looks like an earthen pot, known as ‘Ghara’ in hindi. It is also known as Gavial.

Nerd Note 2 : Ghariyal is one of the three crocodilian species native to India. The other two are: Mugger crocodile and Saltwater crocodile.

Nerd Note 3 : Alligator gets its name from ‘el lagarto’, spanish term for lizard.

Nerd Note 4 : All the members of order Crocodilia are referred as crocodilians collectively.

Read our older post to know about difference between tortoise and turtle as well.

And as always, thanks for reading

Ayush!!!