The number of critically endangered gharial (Gavialis gangetics) has increased to 102 from 81 in 2008, according to a recent census. Gharial was listed as a critically endangered species in the Red Data Book of the World Conservation Union in 2007. A critically endangered species faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future without urgent and appropriate conservation efforts. A recent study on the population and distribution of gharials in Nepal, conducted by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and the WWF Nepal, found an increase in the number of these crocodiles in the country