Crowds of people were fascinated to see a 12-foot gharial beneath the Madhusudan Setu bridge in Odisha, India, last month, the Deccan Chronicle reported.
The rare gharial, a relative of the crocodile, was seen basking on a sandy bank after drifting far downstream from its usual habitat. Normally, it would not be seen so close to a city, so local officials from the forestry department monitored the situation for safety.
Meanwhile, onlookers took a host of videos and photos, many of which were shared on social media.
Thankfully, unlike many incidents involving large predators close to cities, no one seems to have had a close encounter with this gharial. In other circumstances, crocodiles and other large animals can prove a threat to humans who venture too close.
These encounters seem to be becoming more common as cities and agricultural areas expand. As humans develop more of the world, there are fewer untouched wild areas for animals to occupy. Many die off, but others venture into developed areas in search of food and safe places to hide, or simply because they become confused.
Once they are in developed areas, animals come face-to-face with humans, and neither side is usually ready for that type of encounter. Both humans and animals get hurt this way, and even if both parties make it out safely, the animal may later need to be euthanized because it has gotten too accustomed to humans.
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In this case, there was some speculation that higher-than-usual waters in the Mahanadi River swept the gharial so far downstream.
Events like minor or even major flooding have become more common as extreme weather has increased due to the Earth's rising temperature. This is the direct result of air pollution that traps heat in our atmosphere, so one small way that we can help prevent animals from being displaced from their habitats and lower the risk of dangerous wildlife encounters is to address air pollution.
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