So where do Chinese Alligators live and what is their natural habitat?
The Chinese Alligator species live in Eastern China and were originally spread through much of the country. Their natural habitat is sub-tropical with a warm climate. As for surroundings, they thrive in the following areas:
- Mash lands & swamps
- Ponds & lakes
- Streams & flowing rivers
- Ditches
Sadly in 1988, the species' spread across China had been reduced by around 90%. The huge reduction in the number of Chinese Alligators population is largely down to farming and the use of the land for human use. Another cause for the decrease is believed to be when the species feed on rats that have been poisoned and thrown onto wasteland or into water by villagers. For our Chinese Alligators living in captivity, we mimick their natural habitat as much as we can, using the following methods:
- We stay away from the animals as much as possible by not entering their enclosures unless absolutely nessecary - we use live, HD coloured cameras with sound to watch in on them from every angle
- Each enclosure has its own body of water, stretch of land with natural flooring and slabbed sections around the water areas
- Burrows - crucial for our Alligators, allowing them to venture underground
- Outdoor & indoor enclosures
- Suitably heated indoor & outdoor water - we lower and raise the water temperatures as needed to mimick summer and winter seasons - lower water temps encourage the Alligators to burrow inside for brumation
- Lowering & raising of water levels to mimick water levels throughout the different seasons
- Use of a water-sprinkling system - this is used to create the 'rainy' seasons that occur during breeding season