Valmikinagar, Bihar, April 24 2020 : Restrictions on movement during lockdown imposed due to Covid-19 have not affected WTI’s zeal and commitment to conservation action. When the biologist could not travel, mobile communication and local communities came to the rescue in our Gandak Gharial project, that resulted in saving 94 eggs of the critically endangered gharial.

True to its mission of working with communities and governments, WTI has trained individuals from the fisher and farming community as nest watchers to monitor the Gandak River bank nesting sites during the nesting season of this riverine crocodile. Five trained nest watchers have been keeping a keen eye on the nesting banks that are prone to erosion. With only an estimated number of 300-900 mature individuals (Redlist, 2019) saving the eggs is paramount for conservation success.

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Working remotely with mobile video calls, WTI’s biologist Subrat K Behera guided the nest watchers during lockdown to save nest eggs from river bank erosion, especially during a severe local storm on the 14^th of April. Each nest saved translates to successful hatching and release and restocking back to the wild of this apex predator of our riverine systems.

The Gharial which normally nests within 2-3 meters of the waterline with a clutch size of about 30 eggs in the Gandak River bank needs hands on conservation with egg relocation in-situ to ensure safe hatching away from predation and riverine erosion. This has been the focus of the WTI’s Gandak Gharial Recovery Project since 2014 with conservation translocations of captive bred and reared gharials since the discovery of gharial nests in 2016. Nest protection continues to be the major thrust in this project supported by the Dept. of Environment, Forest And Climate Change, Govt. of Bihar and the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

“Its most satisfying to be able to guide my nest watchers even during the lockdown period, and be able to save nests from riverine erosion. We managed to save 94 eggs from three nests during the recent storm. Without constant vigil during nesting, it would be difficult to spot the nests once the egg laying is completed” summarized Subrat Behera.

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