Mass deaths of rare crocodiles in India

BBC News 15 Dec 07;

At least 21 endangered crocodile-like gharials have been found dead over the past three days in a river in northern India, wildlife officials say.

The reptiles died in the Chambal River, and one official said that cirrhosis of the liver was the cause of the deaths.

Tests are now being carried out on the water for the presence of any liver-damaging toxins.

The gharial, with its long, narrow snout adapted for eating small fish, is critically endangered in South Asia.

The reptiles died in the Chambal River, which runs along the border between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

"Autopsies confirm liver cirrhosis as the cause of death," DNS Suman, Uttar Pradesh's top wildlife official, told Reuters news agency.

He said poisoning was not suspected as fish in the river had not died.

The gharial, also known as the Indian crocodile, is one of the longest of all living crocodilians - an adult male can approach 6m (20ft) in length.

The gharial was on the verge of extinction several decades ago.

In 1986, some 500 reptiles were released into the wild under a project funded by the Indian government, but wildlife officials say only a few of them have survived.

Some experts believe the gharials are unable to cope with the change in their water habitat when they leave the zoo.

Other factors such as fishing and pollution of the river by industrial effluents are thought to have contributed to the decline in the number of the reptiles.

Liver cirrhosis kills 26 crocodiles in north India
Reuters 14 Dec 07;

As many as 26 endangered crocodiles have been found dead over the last three days in northern India and experts attribute the rare mass deaths to cirrhosis of the liver, authorities said on Friday.

The reptiles died in the waters of the Chambal river, which runs along the borders of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the central state of Madhya Pradesh, baffling experts as it is considered their natural habitat.

"Autopsies confirm liver cirrhosis as the cause of death," D.N.S. Suman, Uttar Pradesh's top wildlife official, told Reuters from Etawah town on the banks of the Chambal where experts have camped to investigate the deaths.

Poisoning was not suspected as fish in the river had not died, Suman said, adding that scientists would test the water for the presence of any liver-damaging toxins.

Cirrhosis is marked by the loss of liver tissue, leading to the loss of function of the vital organ.

(Reporting by Sharat Pradhan; Editing by Y.P. Rajesh and Sanjeev Miglani)