Chinese Alligator

The Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinesis) is a small relative of the well-known American Alligator. Unlike its US cousin, the Chinese alligator rarely excedes 7 feet long, with 5 feet being a more common size.

While it originally ranged through much of China, this species' wild habitat has been reduced to little more than a few ponds containing a handful of animals, mostly due to conversion of its habitat to argicultural use. Poisoning of rats, which the alligators then eat, has also been blamed for their decline. In the past decade, only one wild nest has been found.

However, the species is prolific in captivity, with estimates of the total captive population at over 10,000 animals, mostly an the Anhui research center and the Madras Crocodile Bank, as well as numerous zoos.

Physically, this species is an almost perfect miniature of its American cousin. Chinese alligators have proportionally larger heads than young American alligators of the same size, as well as having scales that are more granular and a pattern of faint, light bands against their dark background.

This species is widely regarded as quite docile, but, as with any crocodilian, it is capable of inflicting immense damage on an unwary keeper and should thus be treated with caution.

See also: Chinese Alligator, American Alligator, Wikimedia Commons, Madras Crocodile Bank