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October 29, 2017

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Chinese alligator

By Li Anlan | 00:00 UTC+8 October 29, 2017 | Print Edition

The Chinese alligator is also another case of endangered species that was successfully reintroduced back in Shanghai. It is one of the oldest animals on Earth, a relic of Oligocene epoch 37 million years ago, yet they barely survived urbanization.

Populations have decreased as wetlands were lost to agricultural development and human activity — killing the reptiles for their meat and for medicinal purposes. As recently as 10 years ago, an alligator in a market cost 100 yuan (US$15) per centimeter of length.

The Chinese species, also known as the Yangtze alligator, is smaller than its American cousin. Its ancestors were terrestrial, but the species evolved as the environment changed, adapting to life in the water.

In order to save the Chinese alligators, breeding centers have been created, including one in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, in 1979, which was renamed the Anhui Research Center for Chinese Alligator Reproduction and registered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. More than 10,000 Chinese alligators now live in the farm.

But Shanghai’s first reintroduced Chinese alligators were brought in from the US. Six Chinese alligators were released in the Dongtan Wetland Park in June 2007. In 2015, another six were released in the park.

The Chinese alligator is fully armored, even on its belly, which is not a common trait of the crocodile family. It has a flat head, strong limbs and long tail used for both swimming and self-defense.

The alligators live in fresh water and have large appetite, especially ahead of their winter hibernation periods.

The Chinese alligator breeds in summer. The male and female mate in June, and the female would build nests in July, using weeds, twigs and mud. Each clutch contains 10 to 30 eggs. The female alligator guards the nest, and the eggs incubate in natural temperatures, hatching after 60 days. The sex of the offspring is determined by the temperature in the nest.

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