Gharial Deadly 60 Bites

On Deadly 60 I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.

Here's just one of my many favourites.

This is Deadly 60 Bites.

Deadly 60's taking us to every corner of the world,

which I never really understood,

cos the world doesn't have any corners.

But of all of the sort of round bits of the world,

this is probably the most magical.

I'm in India.

India is so huge, Great Britain would fit into it over 13 times.

The next animal we're looking for in the Deadly 60 is a true dinosaur.

They've been on the planet, almost unchanged,

for over 100 million years.

And it's one of the largest reptiles on Earth.

They've got a frightening face full of teeth...

..and they're also master fishermen.

These aren't just your common or garden crocodiles.

These crocs have adapted to become lethal fish killers,

and they're called gharials.

They have an elongated jaw with rows of razor-sharp, interlocking teeth,

and a lighter skull than other crocs, allowing them to move quicker

in the water. And this weird bulbous growth

is found on the mature male individuals.

In Indian, it's called a ghara, meaning pot.

It's used to create a humming noise to attract females.

Gharials have different muscles in their legs, which allow them

to be the fastest crocs in the water.

So, of all the different species of crocodiles in the world,

gharial are the master fishermen. I'm here to find out how hard that is

and also to catch some breakfast for a few friends we'll meet later on.

All over the world, people use cast nets to catch small fish.

I've tried it quite a few times before

and I've never caught anything.

But I've a really good feeling about this. How can I possibly fail?

That's terrible.

I'm sorry, Johnny!

Come to Papa.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Absolutely nothing.

Literally, nothing.

So, I've got this huge bucket of fish that I managed to catch this morning.

-Liar.

-And I'm going to see how close I can get

to those fearsome gharial teeth.

In order to do that, I've come to a captive breeding centre in the south.

These amazing creatures are almost extinct in the wild.

But this place is doing all it can to save them.

There's a couple down there.

Wow, they're quick!

'Well, as they obviously aren't going to come to me,

'I'm going to have to get my feet wet.'

A-ha!

You beauty!

BABY QUACKS

That is the cutest sound in the world.

'There's only around 200 breeding pairs left in the wild.

'Fewer than even giant pandas.

'Hunting and pollution of the rivers where they live

'are thought to be the causes.'

It's just terrifying to think that an animal that's been around

since before the dinosaurs

can be coming to the brink of extinction because of us.

But they're not going on the Deadly 60 because they're rare.

These are fish-catching specialists.

Look at the snout widthways on.

It's very, very thin,

which means it'll carve through the water a lot quicker

than the fatter, broader snouts of an alligator or a crocodile.

Even at this size, the gharial really is a swimming fish trap.

'But they get much bigger.

'And to see just how huge they CAN get, I'm going to meet the parents.

'And it's feeding time.'

Now, this is more like it.

MUSIC: Theme from "Jaws"

That...

is a big male gharial.

Probably not completely fully grown -

they get as big as six metres.

But this one is going to be absolutely huge.

Look at that face full of teeth.

That is amazing.

Could someone stop that music?!

I know these crocs are enormous,

but they're no danger to me.

Gharials are fish specialists. That's what they feed on.

And he's not going to try and take a bite of me

cos he doesn't want to eat me - I'm hoping. Fingers crossed.

Let's see if we can get to see those amazing jaws at work.

Wow, did you see him catch that?!

# If the fish swam out of the ocean

# And grew legs and they started walking... #

I know it looks ridiculous, the way they throw back their heads

and just chug the fish back in one go,

but it's all down to the fact that crocodiles can only open their mouths

open and shut, they can't go side to side -

their jaw just won't allow it.

So, they throw their head back and let gravity drop the fish

back into their gullet. It looks crazy,

but it's worked for 100 million years, so it must be pretty good.

To us, the gharial's totally harmless

but an utterly unique marvel of nature.

To a fish, though,

it's an absolute swimming nightmare.

And that's why the gharial's going on my Deadly 60.

Unchanged for over 100 million years,

gharials can grow up to six metres in length.

They're streamlined, lightning-fast snouts

whip through the water after their pray.

If you're a fish and unlucky enough to meet one of them on the prowl,

then it's game over.