@ThylacineAlive I thought they were young gharials or false gharials! That makes me feel a bit more confident about IDing on my own, since they didn't have a sign and neither of those was on any species list I have.
@ThylacineAlive Ah, okay. So these were too young to have been Indians, then. That was something I didn't know DC has one or two, as well, so they're less common in the US than I thought.
@TinoPup They're not common, no. I've seen them at Bronx, Fort Worth, LA, San Diego, Smithsonian, and St. Augustine in the US. I'm sure one or two more places have them as well. LA and SDZ got theirs from Bronx imports, and Smithsonian got their remaining female as a diplomatic gift. She's actually the only representative of the Nepal population in a Western zoo and some think they could be a separate species or subspecies. I don't know how Fort Worth or St. Augustine got theirs but I'd imagine the latter imported themselves.
@ThylacineAlive I saw the ones at Fort Worth the day after this, they have such a beautiful exhibit! Interesting about the Smithsonian one, I assume they have no plans to replace her then. At what age do the males grow that lump on their nose?
@TinoPup I agree Fort Worth has a wonderful enclosure for them. The only reason I give Bronx's the slight edge is because they can go up and down all those waterfalls if they want, which gets the animals to be more active. FWZ's is more visitor friendly, though.
I don't know when they do, but I think they get really ugly as adults
