Wild Yangtze Alligator Rediscovered in Anhui
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 23rd, 2008
Fishermen in the eastern province of Anhui (near Hefei) have found a wild Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis), which is being called a living fossil, and tracks of another, local authorities said on Monday, June 23, 2008.
The Chinese or Yangtze alligator is native only to China. It is smaller than the other alligator species, the American alligator, growing to an average of 5 feet (1.5 m) in length. Some Chinese specimens have been known to be 7 feet long. Unlike the American Alligator, the Chinese alligator is fully armored; even the belly is armored which is a feature on only a few crocodilians.
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 (<200 individuals, only approximately 50 of which are mature).
The 20-kilogram reptile was discovered last week in a pond in Wanshou Village, Wuhu County while villagers were fishing. It was believed to have been living in the village for more than 40 years, said experts with the national nature reserve for the Chinese alligators.
The alligator was released to the pond after an investigation, experts said.
Villagers also saw what appeared to be the tracks of another, larger specimen in neighboring Gangshan Village, said Hong Ning, Wuhu Forestry Administration director.
In Wuhu, once a major habitat of the reptile, not one animal has been sighted for nearly 30 years due to human activities, he said.
The Chinese alligator, also known as the Yangtze alligator, was very plentiful more than 230 million years ago, particularly on the eastern seaboard. But now, with a population of no more than 150 in the wild, it is listed one of the world’s most endangered creatures.
China has put the Chinese alligator at the top level of its protection list. In 1979, the Chinese Alligator Breeding Research Center was set up in Anhui. Since then, the number of alligators at the center has risen from about 200 to more than 10,000.
Source: “Wild Chinese alligator, ‘living fossil,’ found in E China,” Xinhua News Service, Editor: Wang Hongjiang
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
It was very nice to read that after the investigation it was released back into it’s home, and that they believe it has been living in the area without problems for that long. It is also great to hear about the successful breeding program!
This article is interesting. It’s good to know there has been a recent sighting in the area mentioned, after 30 years with no sign of these creatures there. But I’m confused as to whether there are 150 or 200 individuals reportedly living in the wild. Also, the sighting was made in the same Province in which the breeding center is located. Have there been releases of captive bred alligators into habitat formerly occupied by wild populations? With up to 10,000 currently living individuals bred in captivity, I would imagine there is a plan to reintroduce them in their former habitats. Could that explain the recent sighting?