Fewer than 1,000 Chinese alligators remain in their native habitat, but at least 10,000 reside in captivity around the world. Through the Species Survival Plan and other captive breeding programs, zoos – including the Houston Zoo – maintain Chinese alligator populations, in case a viable reintroduction plan is someday developed.

Paul Freed holds a young Chinese alligator

The Chinese alligator, the only cousin of the American alligator, is a small crocodilian, measuring up to 6 feet long and weighing in at a maximum of 90 pounds. Their habitat is limited to the swamplands along lower Yangtze River in the Chinese provinces of Jiangau, Zhejiang, and Anhui.

The Species Survival Plan (SSP) program, administered by the 201-member American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), organizes scientifically controlled managed breeding programs for selected wildlife as a hedge against extinction. Species Survival Plans (SSPs) also coordinate various education and conservation projects, including reintroducing animals back to the wild when appropriate.

Currently, the AZA manages 104 SSPs covering 147 individual species. The Houston Zoo participates in a variety of SSPs, including those for the greater hornbills, Micronesian kingfishers, maned wolves, Asian elephants, cheetahs, and Siberian tigers.

“Focus on conservation is very high here,” says supervisor of herpetology Paul Freed. “Zoos used to be a focal point of entertainment, a place where people could see exotics. We went from the postage stamp mentality of having one of each species to offering more education on the plight of endangered animals and conservation and breeding programs.”

The Bronx Zoo oversees the Chinese alligator SSP, instructing other zoos which animals to breed and when, in order to ensure adequate numbers and genetic diversity. Houston received its first six Chinese alligator hatchlings – all females – almost 20 years ago. Their first breeding pair arrived from the Moscow Zoo in 1991. Over the years, the couple has produced at least 67 babies, according to zoo officials. A few dozen have been distributed to other zoos; Houston zoo staff are raising the rest.

The alligator’s association with the mythical Chinese dragon has not protected it from human impact, explains Dr. Adam Britton, a research officer with Wildlife Management International who is working with Chinese officials to conserve and reintroduce the gators to the wild. Dam construction and wetland draining for agricultural purposes have driven most of the alligators away. Despite legal protection of the species, some continue to be killed because they are considered a nuisance to farmers. Many of the dead are taken to market and their organs are sold as cures for a variety of ailments.

Despite this desperate situation, Britton is hopeful that reintroduction is possible. “As a conservation strategy for crocodilians around the world, reintroduction has been moderately successful, so the potential is there,” he explains. “Nobody has tried reintroducing Chinese alligators before, so we’re treading in the dark somewhat. The key will be ensuring that suitable habitat can be identified which provides wild alligators with long-term food, shelter, and nesting areas. Several potential sites have already been identified, and the Chinese government is committed to improving the quality of marginal habitat for future release of alligators.”

Will the gator babies from the Houston Zoo be released in the wild anytime soon? Probably not, says Britton, because there are at least 10,000 captive alligators already in China. “Populations of captive alligators outside China were established with an eye to future reintroductions, as they can add valuable genetic diversity to the reintroduced population, and they would become an important symbol of cooperation between the Chinese and the international community to save wild alligators,” he explains. “In order to augment China’s well-established captive populations, however, the cost and logistics of transporting wild alligators to China from the United States must be considered in light of the limited funds available. Whatever their role, they will be a part of the overall strategy to save the most important population – the wild alligators.”
For more information on the plight of the Chinese alligators, visit the Chinese Alligator Fund at www.flmnh.ufl.edu/alligatorfund.