Ecology and behaviour False gharial

1 ecology , behaviour

1.1 diet
1.2 reproduction
1.3 conflict

ecology , behaviour
diet

until recently, little known diet or behaviour of false gharial in wild. details being revealed. in past, false gharial thought have diet of fish , small vertebrates. more recent evidence , observation inidicate has generalist diet despite narrow snout. in addition fish , smaller aquatic animals, mature adults prey on larger vertebrates, including proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques, deer, water birds, , reptiles. eye-witness accounted of false gharial attacking cow in east kalimantan.

the false gharial may considered ecological equivalent neotropical crocodiles such orinoco , american crocodiles, both have slender snouts broad diet.

reproduction

false gharials mound-nesters. females lay small clutches of 13 35 eggs per nest, , appear produce largest eggs of extant crocodilians. sexual maturity in females appears attained around 2.5 3 m (8.2 9.8 ft), large compared other crocodilians.

it not known when breed in wild or when nesting season is. once eggs laid, , construction of mound completed, female abandons nest. unlike other crocodilians, young receive no parental care , @ risk of being eaten predators, such mongooses, tigers, leopards, civets, , wild dogs. young hatch after 90 days , left fend themselves.

conflict

in 2008, 4-m female false gharial attacked , ate fisherman in central kalimantan; remains found in gharial s stomach. first verified fatal human attack false gharial. however, 2012, @ least 2 more verified fatal attacks on humans false gharials had occurred indicating perhaps increase of human-false gharial conflict possibly correlated decline of habitat, habitat quality , natural prey numbers.