Besides gharials, around 550 turtle offspring have also been spotted in the area.

According to the wildlife department, to protect the eggs, meshes were installed at 33 nests of gharials, 48 of turtles and 4 of crocodiles (crocodyluspalustris) in March this year. Now, the hatching process has begun and will continue for the next two weeks. Due to the extreme heat, hatching started 10 days in advance.

The department is concerned about the survival of hatchlings, given low level of water in the river. Anil Patel, deputy conservator of forest (National Chambal Sanctuary Project), said, "This year the water level in Chambal is low, and if it goes down further, people will starting crossing it on feet. This would pose a threat to offspring. Our staff is patrolling the area and keeping a tab on the situation."

"It will affect gharial's movement and confine them in areas where water level is a little better" he added.

The survival rate of a hatchling is 2% - 3% in its natural habitat. There are around 922 gharials in Chambal according to last year's census. There are also around 80 crocodiles and more than 2000 turtles in the river.

Chambal was declared a National Sancturary in 1979 with its total area spanning across the three states of MP, Rajasthan and UP. It's the last bastion of the country's most endangered wildlife like gharial, crocodiles, turtles, otter and the fresh water dolphin.