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
