World's most endangered alligator making a comeback, in Shanghai

Date:October 26, 2016
Source:Wildlife Conservation Society

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) reports that eggs of critically endangered Chinese alligators discovered recently in a nest in a Shanghai wetland park have hatched and that baby alligators have been photographed and identified swimming in the area. The announcement signals a huge success for the species and for ongoing reintroduction efforts initiated by East China Normal University, Chongming Dongtan Wetland Park, and WCS with the help of U.S. zoos including WCS's Bronx Zoo, and the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.

"This shows that even the most endangered wildlife can recover if given a chance," said Aili Kang, WCS Executive Director for Asia Programs. "Without the efforts of our partners and colleagues in China, we wouldn't have had this great outcome that demonstrates that people and predators can co-exist in one of the most densely populated regions of the world."

WCS scientists Steven G. Platt, Fenglian Li, and Maggie He originally discovered three nests, with more than 60 viable eggs laid over a period of about two weeks. Unfortunately, two of the nests were lost to flooding spawned by a typhoon in mid-September and the fate of the third nest's hatchlings was unclear. However, Mr. Wang Jiang Tao from Dongtan Wetland Park observed three baby alligators on September 25th and Mr. Yu Feng from East China Normal University photographed the animals on the 27th.


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