Few creatures are as striking as the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), one of the world’s largest crocodilians. Males can grow up to 20 feet (6 meters) long, their bodies built for life in water. Unlike their broad-snouted cousins, gharials boast a long, narrow jaw lined with more than 100 razor-sharp teeth—perfectly adapted for catching slippery prey.

Special sensory cells along the snout detect vibrations in the water. When a fish strays too close, the gharial whips its head sideways with astonishing speed, slicing through water with minimal resistance before snapping its jaws shut.

But this river giant’s reign is in peril. Once widespread across South Asia, the gharial is now critically endangered, its numbers reduced to only a few hundred. Habitat destruction, sand mining, and overfishing have stripped it of both home and food.

The gharial stands today as both predator and victim—a marvel of evolution struggling to survive in the shrinking rivers it once ruled.