The Crocodilian and Freshwater Turtle Research and Conservation Project
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The gharial meta-population in Corbett Tiger Reserve was discovered in 2008 by Subir Mario Chowfin. It is the only known population of the species which lives and breeds in a lake-like environment as compared to most other gharial populations which inhabit river systems making this population truly unique. His surveys in 2008 were characterized by not only the discovery of this gharial population living in a reservoir but also by the indication that this population was also nesting in lake – like environs – a fact not previously known about the species.
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In 2010, he initiated the Crocodilian and Freshwater Turtle Research and Conservation Project (2010-2016) in Corbett Tiger Reserve with himself as the Principal Investigator and Dr. Alison J. Leslie of the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa as the Scientific Advisor. The project supported by The Gadoli and Manda Khal Wildlife Conservation Trust focuses on various aspects of population dynamics and nesting ecology of the critically endangered crocodile – the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in the aquatic environs of this Reserve.
Some of the highlights of this project are:
• The use of highly scientific field survey equipment including pioneering the use of trail cameras in census and enumeration exercises and Electric OBM’s characterized by low carbon footprints, zero – pollution and low noise during crocodile boat surveys.
• Pioneering the Two – Phase Sampling Method (also known as Double Sampling) used for perhaps the first time ever when censusing a gharial population. Gharial population counts are corrected by detection probabilities which allow for comparing of trends in population size overtime.
• Discovery of a large gharial nesting area in Boksar in the backwaters of the Kalagarh Reservoir in Corbett Tiger Reserve.
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The Crocodilian and Freshwater Turtle Research and Conservation Project has been supported with grant awards from The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, The CZS CBOT Endangered Species Fund, The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo – Cleveland Zoological Society Asia Seed Grant, The PPG Sustainability and Conservation Fund, The Rufford Small Grants Foundation, Idea Wild, WWF – India Small Grants Program and The MBZ Species Conservation Fund.