The
Chinese Alligator or
Yangtze Alligator is one of two known living species of
AlligatorAn Alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The name alligator is an anglicized form of el lagarto the Spanish term for "lizard", the name by which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator...
, a genus in the family
AlligatoridaeAlligators and caimans are archosaurs, species of crocodilians and form the family Alligatoridae .- True alligators :...
. The Chinese Alligator is native only to
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. It is smaller than the other alligator species, the
American AlligatorThe American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, is one of the two living species of Alligator, a genus within the family Alligatoridae. The American Alligator is native only to the Southeastern United States, where it inhabits wetlands that frequently overlap with human-populated areas...
, growing to an average of 1.5 m (5 ft).
Appearance
While its appearance is very similar to its cousin, the American Alligator, there are a few differences. One obvious difference is that the Chinese Alligator is quite small. Usually only attaining a length of 5 feet, these alligators are known to grow to 7 feet, though that was not officially announced until recently. Unlike the American Alligator, the Chinese Alligator is fully armored; even the belly is armored, which is a feature of only a few crocodilians. They weigh up to 100 lbs (44.4 kg). Chinese alligators grow slowly, being only 2 ft (60 cm) long after 2 years of age.
Geographic range and habitat
While it originally ranged through much of China, this species' wild habitat has been reduced to little more than a few ponds containing a small number of animals (fewer than 200 individuals, only approximately 50 of which are mature) along the lower
Yangtze RiverThe Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon....
in the provinces of
Jiangsu' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou...
,
ZhejiangZhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
, and
AnhuiAnhui is a province of the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
. Its population reduction has been mostly due to conversion of its habitat to agricultural use.
Poisoning"Rat poison" redirects here. For the UNIX window manager, see ratpoison.Rodenticides are a category of pest control chemicals intended to kill rodents.Single feed baits are chemicals sufficiently dangerous that the first dose is sufficient to kill....
of
ratRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s, which the alligators then eat, has also been blamed for their decline. In the past decade, very few wild nests have been found, and even fewer produced viable offspring.
Conservation status
The Chinese alligator is listed as a
CITESCITES is an international agreement between governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1973 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature...
Appendix I species, which puts extreme restrictions on its trade and exportation throughout the world. It is
IUCN Red ListThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1948, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is the world's main authority on the conservation...
ed as a critically
endangered speciesAn endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Also it could mean that due to deforestation there may be a lack of food and/or water...
. Efforts are underway to reintroduce captive-bred animals to suitable wild habitats, but thus far have not met with much success.
In captivity
Chinese alligators are quite prolific in captivity, with estimates of the total captive population at over 10,000 animals, mostly in the Anhui Research Centre of Chinese Alligator Reproduction and the Madras Crocodile Bank, as well as in numerous
zooA zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
s, including the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park which has successfully bred the Chinese Alligator and has been fortunate enough to release some of the offspring back into the wild in China. They can also be seen in the Cincinnati Zoo's reptile house.
In several
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s and food centres in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
's booming areas, young and
prematurePremature can refer to:*Premature aging: see Senescence*Premature birth or prematurity: see Preterm birth*Premature ejaculation*Premature menopause*Premature stop codon: see Nonsense mutation*Premature ventricular contraction...
alligators are allowed to roam free with their mouths taped shut. They are subsequently killed for human consumption, as in China alligator meat is thought to cure colds and prevent
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
.
This species is widely regarded as quite docile, but, as with any
crocodiliaCrocodilia is an order of large reptiles that appeared about 84 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period . They are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria...
n, it is capable of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Martial arts
A rare alligator form exists in the cadre of animal forms belonging to
XingyiXingyi may refer to:*Xingyiquan, one of the major internal Chinese martial arts*Xingyi, Guizhou, county level city in Guizhou, China...
boxing. One source states this technique was inspired by the way an alligator can "float and swim well". It goes on to say "The alligator’s attribute is a combination of quietness, nimbleness, and a sudden, smooth, and quickly twisting force." The character used to represent alligator in this instance is
Tuo , which is different from the character regularly used to describe both the alligator and crocodile.
Tuo is generally used to describe any number of large reptiles or water lizards.
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