With support from the Wildlife Adaptation Innovation Fund, WWF-Nepal and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation worked to address these challenges by translocating 10 gharials to a new and more suitable habitat: the West Rapti river in Nepal’s Banke National Park. This location was chosen because it has smaller temperature swings than their habitat in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, adequate sandy banks for basking and nesting, limited human activity and influence, and was once part of their natural range.
A team of wildlife biologists, freshwater specialists, and climate experts chose a 17.4 mile stretch of the West Rapti river in Banke National Park to translocate 10 adult gharials—nine female and one male—from the Gharial Breeding Centre in Chitwan National Park. The translocated gharials were tagged for monitoring purposes and prior to release, underwent an acclimatization period in enclosures with low water current, allowing them to acclimate to the new environment.
To ensure the success of the project, law enforcement agencies, park officials, and the local government were engaged with the project to strengthen gharial protection, as certain stretches of the river are adjacent to community forest areas. Additionally, an awareness campaign, which included the dissemination of posters, brochures, and videos highlighting the project, was conducted among local communities near the park to promote their involvement in gharial conservation efforts and reduce potential human-wildlife conflict. These interventions have been crucial in igniting community engagement for gharial conservation efforts and have fostered a collaborative approach to conservation among the relevant stakeholders.
