Subject: Gharial (Bangladesh) ______________________________________________________________________ A sub-adult Gharial, one of the few Gharials still said to be surviving in Bangladesh, was killed by fishermen in the river Padma near Aricha earlier this month, raising concern about the reptile (Gavialis gangetieus) whose population is near extinct . From October 17 to 19, a team of naturalists scanned the possible nesting sites of Gharial along the Padma in fishing boats, talking to fishermen to gather information about sightings of the reptile explaining the nature of Gharial and the need to conserve it. They also urged them to report its sightings so that arrangements could be made for their survival. Based on observation and surveys by Dr Ali Reza Khan, AW Akhond, Dr Farid Ahsan, Mizan Rashid, Mokhlesur Rahman, SMA Rashid, Sakhawat Hossain and Sirajuddin, the Gharial population in Bangladesh rivers had declined, Mohammad Anisuzzaman Khan, a leader of NACOM(Nature Conservation Movement) and a wildlife biologist in Dhaka said. >From an estimated population of 15 in 1981 in the Ganges/Padma in Chapai Nawabganj and Rajshahi between Godagari and Diar Khidirpur and Yusufpur, their number fell to 10 by 1984. Only five were seen in 1985 in the area, three in 1987 and two in 1991. There had been no more sightings in the Ganges/Padma afterwards in area.In the Brahmaputra/Jamuna there were seven in 1981 between Gaibandha and Bahadurabad ghat. But there were three at Gaibandha in 1984 and three at Bahadurabad in 1985. A pair was sighted last time in Bahadurabad in 1987. But there had been no more sightings by wildlife biologists since 1991.At the same time, killing of five Gharials was reported in 1981, 80 eggs were destroyed, five 'juveniles' were caught, two of those kept at Rajshahi zoo. In 1984, three were killed, 47 eggs were destroyed at Khidirpur and, Godagari and Chardiar and Gaibandha areas, virtually routing those reports of three more deaths came in 1985, including the largest one in Rajabazar area. In 1991, two more killings were reported. However, during a recent survey for river dolphins in the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, five new sightings were reported by fishermen, suggesting survival of some in the Jamuna between Bhuapur, Sirajganj and Aricha and in the Padma between Nagarbari and Lohajang. Of them, one was killed at Taota in Jamuna, one was collected by the Dhaka Zoo from the Padma in Munshiganj. The third was killed in Kadamtali in the Padma on October 2. The last two were reported between Nagarbari and Harirampur area.The recently reported sightings, Khan says, are important indications that there are still a few individuals, still surviving in these areas. Gharial has been included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Data Book for endangered species and the Convention of Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) as one of the globally threatened reptiles. The Bangladesh government also accorded its priority status in a number of conservation project documents, putting funds for their captive breeding in the Bhwal National Park. The IUCN chapter in Bangladesh is likely to conduct a field survey soon to determine its latest status and renew conservation efforts for its survival.