The Gandak River in Bihar became India's second-largest gharial habitat after the Chambal. Adult gharials rose from 54 (2015) to over 400 (2025), with the total population crossing 1,000; about 944 were released into a 326-km stretch between 2015 and 2025. India's first gharial captive breeding began in 1975 at Tikarpada, Odisha.