Range

Asia is the native home of the Chinese alligator. Here they are found exclusively in China. Their range has been reduced by over 90%.

Habitat

They make their home in rivers, lakes, swamps and marshland. These are freshwater habitats which are slow moving.

With the expansion of human habitations they have taken advantage of reservoirs, canals, irrigation channels and rice paddies which provide a suitable habitat.

Reproduction

Nesting takes place from July to August. Males will breed with multiple females throughout the breeding season.

Females lay up to 40 eggs in a nest which is created on land. This nest is a mound formed from vegetation and mud. While in their egg the hatchlings can communicate with one another or their mother. Hatching is synchronized and the mother will open the nest to allow the young to exit.

The gender of the hatchling is determined by the temperature during incubation. Low temperatures produce females while high temperatures produce males.

The mother provides care to the hatchlings and this may last for years. She may help them from their egg by gently rolling it in their mouth to slightly crack it.

Maturity is reached between four and five years old. They may continue to produce eggs up until 50 years old.

Behavior

The Chinese alligator is considered nocturnal. They will emerge at night to hunt.

Chinese alligators will create a burrow underground where they spend much of their time during the day. For part of the year they will brumate (this is not a true hibernation but a similar process which reptiles undertake) underground in these tunnels.

They make a range of vocalizations including a bellow which is made by males and females during the breeding season.

Predators and Threats

As adults the only recorded predator of the Chinese alligator is humans. Juveniles may face predation from birds and large fish along with cannibalism by adult alligators.

Humans have had a severe effect on the population of Chinese alligators leading to the population now including as few as 100 individuals.

Threats which they face include habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution and hunting.

A captive breeding program and habitat restoration efforts have begun to try and prevent the extinction of the Chinese alligator.

Quick facts

The Chinese alligator is also known as the Yangtze alligator or muddy dragon. In Chinese they are called the ‘yowlung’ which means dragon.

Chinese alligators are believed to have split from a common ancestor shared with the American alligator 40 million year ago.

They are the most endangered member of the crocodilian family.

The species was first known to western science in 1879. For a long period of time they were believed to be extinct.