India, June 27 -- Four young gharials - fish-eating crocodiles known for their long, slender snouts - have found a new home in the 'Croc Trail' section of Byculla Zoo. The juveniles, under four years old and about two feet long, were brought from the Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park in Ranchi, Jharkhand, as part of a long-awaited animal exchange programme.

In return, the Mumbai zoo sent eight cockatiels - four white and four grey - to Ranchi, confirmed zoo director Sanjay Tripathi. The exchange, finalised this year after nearly five years of negotiations, aims to revive the zoo's ageing gharial population, which has been housed in Byculla for nearly four decades.

"The existing gharials are too old to breed, so we requested new ones," said ...