The Fort Worth Zoo in Texas has achieved a historic feat by successfully hatching gharial crocodile hatchlings for the second consecutive year. The first newborn arrived on June 16, and the second was discovered a week later. This marks the first time that back-to-back gharial crocodile hatchlings have been born in North America.

Gharials are classified as critically endangered animals, with an estimated 650 adults remaining in the wild. Therefore, every effort made towards their conservation is of immense significance. The Fort Worth Zoo is proud to be the only zoo in North America to produce multiple gharial crocodiles in a single season and is now thrilled to have achieved this feat two years in a row.

The baby gharials were hatched from eggs laid by two different females within the zoo’s gharial group. Vicky Poole, associate curator of ectotherms at the Fort Worth Zoo, expressed her joy at the successful hatching of the gharials for the second year consecutively. She stated, “Everyone here at the Fort Worth Zoo is ecstatic to have repeated success with our gharial hatchings for the second year in a row.” She further emphasized that having two additional hatchlings is a significant step towards increasing the gharial population in zoos and expanding knowledge to help this critically endangered species survive.

The gharial hatchlings are now over a month old and measure just over 12 inches long. Male gharials, primarily found in India, can grow up to 16 feet and weigh nearly 1,500 pounds, while female gharials are slightly smaller. For now, these hatchlings will remain behind the scenes at the Zoo for close monitoring of their growth and development.

In related news, two rare parrots were sent from different zoos with hopes that they might fall in love and help save their species, which currently has just 300 wild birds left. In another instance of animal conservation, a flight attendant and passengers aboard a flight saved six flamingo eggs.

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Source: Good News Network