Jakarta, Aug. 31 -- The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has rescued three newly hatched false gharials ( Tomistoma schlegelii ), an endangered freshwater crocodilian species, from a fishing settlement in Teredu Hamlet, Mempawah District, West Kalimantan.

Head of the Pontianak Marine Management Center Syarief Iwan Taruna Alkadrie said in an official statement received here on Monday that the discovery confirms the Mempawah Hulu River ecosystem continues to support the presence and reproduction of the rare species.

He noted that false gharials in West Kalimantan had previously been documented primarily in Kapuas Hulu and Ketapang districts.

The three hatchlings, known locally by the indigenous Dayak Kanayatn/Ahe commu...