Stories from the Chambal

Jeffrey W. Lang, PhD, senior scientific advisor and mentor to the Gharial Ecology Project, recently received the prestigious George Amato Award for Excellence in Science. Dr Lang was presented the award during Winter CrocFest at St Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park on 13 December 2025.

He received this honour for his outstanding contributions in support of crocodilian science and conservation. The Gharial Ecology Project has been privileged to receive Dr Lang’s mentorship first-hand and to witness his long-term dedication to unravelling the secret lives of gharials and aiding in their recovery. We could not be prouder and happier!

We (GEP and Astral Foundation) are pleased to have participated in a knowledge-sharing session at the Karauli Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan Forest Department, as well as the Morena Division of the National Chambal Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh Forest Department.

Jailabdeen (Project Director) and Pankaj (Field Biologist) demonstrated the use of customised rescue kits for marsh crocodiles. Astral Foundation formulated the concept for these kits, which were designed and fabricated by the Gharial Ecology Project.

Knowledge sharing with Forest Department personnel covered the ways and means to ensure the safety of humans and animals during rescues, while striving to reduce human–crocodile conflict within the region.

Jailabdeen, Project Director at the Gharial Ecology Project, recently participated in the Aquatic Wildlife Rescue and Handling Workshop under the leadership of Ms Renu Singh, APCCF (Lucknow and Central Zone), held at the Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Center.

Jai shared his knowledge with Forest Department personnel on the monitoring, rescue and handling of gharials. This was followed by an interactive, hands-on session on gharial telemetry techniques.

In addition to this highly productive workshop, Jai was pleased to reconnect with — and receive an award of appreciation from — Brij Mohan, a forester familiar with the Chambal landscape, its gharials, and its ensemble cast of characters!

At the 28th Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group in Morocco, the Gharial Ecology Project and collaborators presented a series of talks on gharial natural history and conservation.

The first talk in the series was from Dr Shashwat Sirsi, Project Manager at the Gharial Ecology Project. Dr Sirsi presented long-term data from wild gharials and provided evidence-based criteria of maturity — a crucial step forward in accurately estimating adult gharial abundance and understanding the age and size structure of wild gharial populations.

Watch the talk ↗

Conservation of gharials began in 1975, but 50 years later the fate of these slender-snouted crocodiles remains precarious. Sandeep Rai, Assistant Editor at the Times of India, has written on why long-term efforts have yielded lower than expected conservation dividends, drawing on inputs from several people including our senior scientific advisor, Dr Jeffrey W. Lang.

The central message of the article is clear: captive rearing and release of gharials was important decades ago, when total numbers were critically low, but is now minimally effective in stabilising or increasing population numbers.

If we want to ensure the survival of gharials in the future, we need to focus our attention on protecting and restoring the riverine habitats on which these unique animals depend. We need to recognise the inextricable link between our gharials and our rivers.

We are thrilled to announce that the film Gharial, from season 2 of the series On The Brink, has been honoured with the 70th National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values.

The film showcases the tireless efforts of researchers, including Pankaj Kumar and Jailabdeen A., as they study the behaviour of the Critically Endangered gharial in its last stronghold, the Chambal River.

On The Brink Season 2 is presented by The Habitats Trust and co-produced by HCL and The Gaia People, with direction by Akanksha Sood Singh. The Croc Bank / GEP family extends heartfelt thanks to all the supporters of the Gharial Ecology Project, whose contributions made this achievement possible.

Our head tracker and researcher, Pankaj Kumar, received a Wildlife Conservation Award at the 11th Shri Fateh Singh Rathore Memorial Lecture & Conservation Awards 2023, from the Tiger Watch NGO at Ranthambhore National Park, on 1 March 2023 in Sawai Madhopur.

Pankaj Kumar is quite literally the most knowledgeable person in the world about gharial natural history, ecology and behaviour. He has spent the last 15 field seasons studying gharials at various sites along the Chambal River, and is dedicated to the hard, challenging fieldwork that distinguishes his many contributions to the Gharial Ecology Project.

We thank Dr Dharmendra Khandal and the whole Tiger Watch team for acknowledging Pankaj with this award. Hearty congratulations to Pankaj from the entire GEP and MCBT team!