12 gharials born in Lucknow zoo

Lucknow, July 26 The Lucknow Zoo has welcomed 12 gharial infants.

This is the first time in the history of the zoo that gharial infants have been born.

Their mother was brought to the city zoo from Kukrail Gharial Reserve about 22 years ago.

Their birth has increased the gharial count from seven to 19.

Out of the seven gharials already present in the zoo, three are male, three are juvenile and one is female.

The gharials bury their eggs in land areas around the pond. For up to two-three months, the mother guards the nests from the pond.

As soon as the baby gharials are ready to hatch, they start to chirp. The mother digs down the nest and carries her babies to the water in her mouth.

Assistant director of the zoo, Utkarsh Shukla said: "The total count of the infants will be confirmed only in the basking season when all the gharials come out from the water to be in the sun to maintain their body temperatures during winters. We assume some of the infants are still in the land while others are in water."