Gator paradise in Dongtan park
By Fei Lai |
June 5, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A 1.2-meter endangered Yangtze River alligator was recently discovered at the Dongtan Wetland Park in Chongming County.
Staff said that judging from the size, it's probably one of the six gators released in the park in 2007.
The alligator was probably so hungry after hibernation that it was eagerly seeking food when it was found, Dongtan researcher Yin Quxiao told the Shanghai Morning Post. That's why it didn't try to escape, he said.
An alligator hibernates in October and wakes up in mid-May; the wild alligator is probably the same.
"Yangtze alligators grow slowly. A baby wouldn't reach that length so fast," said Yuan Xiao, senior engineer of the Municipal Wildlife Protection Station.
No one knows how many alligators there are at the Dongtan Wetland Park, he said.
Yangtze alligators are among the world's most endangered alligators. Only some 130 live in the wild in Anhui Province but the number drops by 4-6 percent every year.
Because of human activities, encroachment, pollution, dredging and other problems, the Yangtze River is not hospital to alligators.
More than 10,000 artificially bred Yangtze alligators are living in China, but too much artificial breeding results in lower survivability because higher numbers compete for limited food. Such breeding also reduces genetic diversity necessary for long-term survival. Only mating with alligators from different gene pools can ensure long-term survival.
Chongming island used to be a natural habitat for wild Yangtze alligators. Researchers say Dongtan wetland is similar to original habitats, thus, it could become a new reserve. In 2007, three Yangtze alligators were imported from America and three from a reserve in Zhejiang Province and released in Dongtan wetland. In 2008, 16 alligators were born, but their locator devices failed. In 2010, more gators were born but the number is unknown.
Staff said that judging from the size, it's probably one of the six gators released in the park in 2007.
The alligator was probably so hungry after hibernation that it was eagerly seeking food when it was found, Dongtan researcher Yin Quxiao told the Shanghai Morning Post. That's why it didn't try to escape, he said.
An alligator hibernates in October and wakes up in mid-May; the wild alligator is probably the same.
"Yangtze alligators grow slowly. A baby wouldn't reach that length so fast," said Yuan Xiao, senior engineer of the Municipal Wildlife Protection Station.
No one knows how many alligators there are at the Dongtan Wetland Park, he said.
Yangtze alligators are among the world's most endangered alligators. Only some 130 live in the wild in Anhui Province but the number drops by 4-6 percent every year.
Because of human activities, encroachment, pollution, dredging and other problems, the Yangtze River is not hospital to alligators.
More than 10,000 artificially bred Yangtze alligators are living in China, but too much artificial breeding results in lower survivability because higher numbers compete for limited food. Such breeding also reduces genetic diversity necessary for long-term survival. Only mating with alligators from different gene pools can ensure long-term survival.
Chongming island used to be a natural habitat for wild Yangtze alligators. Researchers say Dongtan wetland is similar to original habitats, thus, it could become a new reserve. In 2007, three Yangtze alligators were imported from America and three from a reserve in Zhejiang Province and released in Dongtan wetland. In 2008, 16 alligators were born, but their locator devices failed. In 2010, more gators were born but the number is unknown.
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