Chinese Alligator Natinal Park

Alligator is the earliest ancient reptile among the living reptiles. The Chinese alligator, one of the world's earliest ancient alligator species, originated from the Mesozoic Era. As a near kin of the early Mesozoic dinosaur, the Chinese alligator has a history of more than 230 million years. It had lived together with dinosaur for 100 million years, and was luckily survived after dinosaur disap­peared from the earth. It is, therefore, called "a living fossil". There are now more than 20 species of alligators throughout the world. The Chinese alligator belongs to the short-snouted alligator family, which only includes 2 species in the contemporary world. The other species is called Mississippi alligator, also a rare species, who dwells in the North America.

The Chinese alligator, one of the rarest animals unique to China, had once dwelled in a vast expanse of fresh waters ranging from the Huai River valley to the middle and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where it could be found over 6 provinces along the river banks a long time ago. Unfortunately, suffering the same mis­fortune with the alligators all over the world, the Chinese alligator had also been regarded as a harmful animal and was decimated in great numbers for its hides and meat. Consequently, the Chinese alligator as well as the world's alligator population suffer a terrible diminution, and some species have been completely wiped out. In addition, the increasing human disturbance, environmental dete­rioration and climatic changes have shrunk its once wide-spread habitats into a small area currently only along the borders of the 3 provinces-Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, where its popu­lation number in wild is less than 500 individuals. Moreover, huge Chinese alligator weighing over 50 kilograms that could be spotted in China in the 1960s now becomes rare. It is getting smaller and smaller in size even it is hardly to find a Chinese alligator of 10 kilograms in the recent years. The shrinking habitats and deteriorat­ing environment form serious threats to the Chinese alligator and have driven it to the verge of extinction. It is, therefore, internation­ally recognized as one of the world's rarest animals that should be rescued without any delay, and it is placed at the first level of China's state protection.

The Chinese alligator is a scaly subtropical carnivorous and cold-blooded animal, that measures around 2 meters long, 10-20 kilograms in weight, and can be 50-60 years old. Endowed with a dark-brown back, grey-white belly and 4 stubby legs, it looks slug­gish and awkward on the ground, but it is amazingly nimble in water. Its webbed toes make it quick both in crawling and in swimming. Its elongate, powerful and thrashing tail acts as a pusher in water and a formidable weapon for self-defense and for attacking its enemy.

It primarily inhabits in the hole on beaches and swamps stud­ded with thickets of reeds, bamboos and other shrubs, where it feeds on spiral shell, freshwater mussel, fish, frog, rat, bird and other small animals. It can hunt on land when it is necessary, but it usually lies in ambush in water, waiting for its prey. When a prey comes close to it, suddenly, it makes a lunge at the prey in a great splashing. Almost at the same time, the prey is swallowed before it becomes aware of what happened to it. Having finished feeding, it basks in the sun in a small tree or on a rock on beach. With teeth unavailable for masticating its prey, its stomach works so well that it can crumble any prey into digestible pieces. It has a good diges­tion and a good tolerance of hunger that keeps it alive without any food for 6 months.

Mating occurs between May and June on the surface of water.

Before mating, the bellows of a male alligator echo through beach or swamp to invite a mate at nightfall A female soon responds to his calls in a far distance. Following their noisy courting, the female takes the lead by swimming to the male, and they float together, then they mate. One male alligator makes mating with 4-5 female alligators, who lay eggs on riverbanks in July, each laying several to dozens of eggs every year, each egg measuring as big as duck's egg. The parental alligators don't conduct incubation themselves, leaving it for natural work at proper heat. Baby alligators come out of the shells in 70 days. The Chinese alligator has a meek disposition, but it becomes ferocious in defense of its territory, nest, eggs and baby alligators. It threatens intruders with a wide-opened mouth studded with sharp teeth and a ruthless hiss.

Shoving the mud or earth out with its feet, blunt snout and powerful tail, the Chinese alligator builds a complicatedly con­structed underground large hole as its "house", or refuge, which looks like a labyrinth. The hole, with several exits and branch tunnels, normally opens on the pond-bank or riverbank, and is heavily cov­ered by tall trees or dense thickets of shrubs or grasses. Two-three meters deep from the ground, the hole contains a "bedroom", a "sit­ting room" and a pool that holds much water even in a dry season. The hole stretches in a tortuous way to prevent direct intrusion of wind and cold air therefore it remains a constant temperature at 10°C even in the severe cold winter.

The Chinese alligator has a habit of hibernation in its house, the hole, for 6 months from late October through next mid-April It remains alive if it failed to get any food in 2 months shortly after its , hibernation. Why is it so tolerant of hunger? Because it is highly capable in saving its energy consumption. Always slow moving, it often lies prostrate for hours, only moving for 2-4 hours in 24 hours to reduce much energy consumption and nutrition requirement.