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Alligator ‘hunts’ — latest summer fun in Dongtan Wetland
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The Chinese alligator is gravely endangered, but a successful conservation program is introducing captive gators into the wild at Dongtan Wetland Park. Zhao Wen goes along for a night of scientific gator-spotting fun. The public can also apply for free science trips.
Aquarium worker Ding Yi’en feeds 1.5-meter-long endangered Chinese alligators twice a week at the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium. Mostly the six to eight captive-bred gators just float around; they’re picky eaters that never have to hunt and don’t know how to dig burrows like their wild cousins.
Last Friday Ding had her first opportunity to see Chinese alligators in the wild on a night field research trip to Chongming Island. Shanghai Daily went along.
Three upcoming trips for the public are available (see box).
“Look, how swift and agile they are! So cute,” Ding whispered, for fear of frightening the juvenile reptiles that were stretching their little heads out of the water near reeds.
The small gators were spotted by their red eyes that glowed in a flashlight beam. That night the volunteers spotted two adults and six juveniles, all healthy and active.
Ding, a 25-year-old conservationist, was among 12 volunteers who went on the second annual “alligator hunt” at Dongtan Wetland Park in Chongming County.
The park organized the “hunt” to locate, photograph and count the gators, which were introduced to the wetlands six years ago in 2007. By looking at their hide and size, scientists can tell their age and assess their growth and health.
Today there are estimated to be fewer than 120 Chinese alligators in the wild, according to Yuan Xiao, director of the Shanghai Wildlife Conservation Station, who went on the trip.
Chinese alligators are the world’s smallest crocodilians, usually growing no more than 1.5 meters and weighing around 45kg. A few can be larger. Adults are dark green to black, while juveniles are black with bright yellow cross-branding.
They tend to be inconspicuous and not very aggressive. They have long, sharp teeth for crushing shells; they eat crabs, shrimp, fish, frogs, and wouldn’t be averse to small birds, eggs and little mammals.
At one time, the Chinese alligator was widely distributed throughout the country, but today it is restricted to the lower Yangtze River and some of its tributaries in Shanghai and Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.
Rampant human encroachment, river development and pollution have pushed them onto the endangered list.
At round 7pm, four small rowboats searched along a small wetland island where the alligators lay eggs. Ding rowed her boat but her eyes never left the flashlight beam that picked up pairs of red-glowing eyes.
“In the aquarium, the Chinese alligators almost never swim but float. I’ve seen too many lazy alligators,” Ding observed, thrilled by the experience. “These are not shy.”
She’s right. Park employees say that adult alligators have been known to climb out of the marsh and sun themselves on a nearby foot path.
“It’s a rare opportunity to be in the wetlands (in Chongming) at night, doing such a wonderful thing. This is really cool,” Ding said.
That night Ding and the other volunteers spotted two adults and six juveniles.
“The adult only had its head out of the water and at first I thought it was just a floating piece of wood,” she said. “When we approached it, it sank into the water and disappeared quickly.”
Chongming Island, in the Yangtze River estuary, used to be home to many alligators. According to county legend, a resident named Zhou Gong once killed an alligator that disturbed villagers, but he died in the jaws of the gator.
To honor Zhou, villagers built a temple and carved a wooden statue of the alligator. The story passed from generation to generation. The statue was destroyed in the 1970s, but a replica was found and returned to the temple in today’s Miaozhen Town.
“We found the alligator statue looked just like a Chinese alligator, which means Chongming was a likely habitat,” says Yuan. “So this is the ideal place for us to carry out the reintroduction program to save the reptile.
In 2007, Dongtan Wetland Park released six captive-bred alligators into the park. Half of them, including two males, were from the United States, and the others were from Changxing County in Zhejiang Province.
“From what we can tell, the gators are doing well and breeding in their new homes every year,” Yuan says.
He tells Shanghai Daily that the park is considering introducing more alligators early next year to diversify the population and avoid inbreeding. The prospective new inhabitants would come from Xuancheng City in Anhui Province.
“Right now, we are still investigating a new water area to see if there is enough food for the gators and if it is a suitable habitat and place to dig burrows,” Yuan adds.
In 1979, the Chinese Alligator Breeding Research Center was established in Anhui, where the reptiles breed rapidly in captivity. The number of captive Chinese alligators is estimated at more than 20,000 and rising.
But there are problems with captivity — juveniles don’t know how to dig burrows and they are used to being fed, so they don’t hunt. The limited gene pool means birth defects are increasing and quite a number of animals are not viable.
“It’s good to see the Chinese alligators here are so healthy,” says Ding, recalling her aquarium gators. A graduate in animal science, Ding says some aquarium alligators developed mouth ulcers and lost their appetite.
“In the aquarium, the Chinese alligators hardly sleep and never hibernate,” she adds. “They’s why they are not in good health.”
Six to eight alligators live together in a tank 10 meters by five meters. “I wish they could also enjoy the big natural habitat here,” she says.
Although Chinese alligators are not much of a threat to humans, they are predators and can be fierce. Ding remembers when an alligator killed and ate a duckling at the aquarium.
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