HEFEI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A nature
reserve in east China's Anhui Province is planning to release 530 rare
Yangtze alligators, also known as Chinese alligators, into the wild in
May. The Yangtze alligator, which
has lived on Earth for over 200 million years, is a first-class
protected animal endemic to China. This is the largest group of the
captive-bred Yangtze alligators to be released. Its
population once encountered a sharp decline due to human activities and
the changes in the natural habitat. China has since adopted multiple
measures to revive its population. In
1979, artificial breeding of the Yangtze alligator began in the city of
Xuancheng, Anhui Province, the main habitat of the species. "Systematic
research and protection of the species, including reintroduction to the
wild and habitat conservation, have been implemented to restore its
population," said Wu Rong, director of the administration of the
province's Chinese alligator national nature reserve. Thanks
to the efforts, the reserve currently boasts approximately 14,000
captive-born Yangtze alligators. It is also the world's largest breeding
and research center for the species. The
nature reserve has begun reintroducing the endangered reptiles into the
wild since 2003, and as of 2020, a total of 508 Chinese alligators have
been released in 16 batches. The reserve released 120 artificially bred Chinese alligators into the wild in 2019, and another 280 last year. Preparations
for this year's reintroduction work have broadly completed. DNA
sequencing, gene comparison and other genetic analysis on the candidate
alligators have been conducted to ensure that the genes of their wild
population do not decay. Chips have been embedded and satellite trackers
have been attached to some alligators for future inspection and
scientific monitoring. Monitoring
data involving the released alligators have shown that the reptiles have
adapted to the wild environment and successively reproduced. According
to Wu, the subsequent release of captive-born Chinese alligators will
be reduced in the next two years to allow the species to "breed and
revive naturally." Meanwhile, the
latest survey shows that the wild population of Chinese alligators has
risen from about 120 at the lowest point to about 200 at present,
completely bucking the declining trend. Enditem
|