Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

I go to the Bronx Zoo at LEAST once per year, but the return of these interesting guys guarantees a summer 2017 visit!

Critically endangered Indian Gharials have returned to the Bronx Zoo for the first time in 25 years.

Gharial are a slender-snouted crocodilian native to northern Indian subcontinent. They are classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Eighty percent of the remaining world population live in the Chambal River in India – the last stronghold for the species.

The Gharials have been added to the river habitat in “JungleWorld,” which first opened in 1985 and is one of the marquee exhibits at the Bronx Zoo. It is an award-winning indoor Asian rainforest that features several multi-species habitats that create a total immersion experience for guests.

The “JungleWorld” river already serves as home to turtles and fish native to Asia. White-cheeked gibbons, mouse deer, Indian fruit bats, painted storks and numerous other species of birds can also be seen along the river’s edge.

Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

WCS’s Bronx Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, 5:30 p.m. weekends from April to October; 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m all days November to March. Adult general admission is $19.95, children (3-12 years old) $12.95, children under 3 are free, seniors (65+) are $17.95. Parking is $16 for cars and $20 for buses. The Bronx Zoo is conveniently located off the Bronx River Parkway at Exit 6; by train via the #2 or #5 or by bus via the #9, #12, #19, #22, MetroNorth, or BxM11 Express Bus service (from Manhattan that stops just outside the gate.) To plan your trip, visit bronxzoo.com or call 718-367-1010.

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit:newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.