Fort Worth Zoo is 'ecstatic' over successful endangered crocodile hatchings

The Fort Worth Zoo is leading the charge in saving a critically endangered reptile. The zoo has successfully hatched two new gharial crocodiles.

Even more important, the crocodiles have different mothers which means they're contributing even more genetic diversity to their population.

“Everyone here at the Fort Worth Zoo is ecstatic to have repeated success with our gharial hatchings for the second year in a row,” said Vicky Poole, associate curator of ectotherms. “Having two additional hatchlings is a big win for growing the gharial population in zoos and expanding knowledge to help this critically endangered species survive.”

The hatching makes the zoo the first in North America to successfully repeat the gharial breeding process. Four crocodiles were hatched last summer.

These hatchlings currently stand about 12 inches long, but they'll quickly grow more than 10 times their size depending on their sexes. Males can reach 16 feet long and weigh in at 1,500 pounds. Females tend to be a bit smaller.

In their native India and Nepal, the crocs face critical endangerment due to habitat destruction, pollution and river fragmentation. Breeding program like the Fort Worth Zoo are working to maintain a genetically diverse captive population to ensure the species can survive.

The hatchlings will remain behind the scenes while staff closely monitors their development.

A release from the zoo said the Gharial hatchlings are the product of more than 10 years of work and collaboration with other breeding programs across the continent.