How many Chinese alligators and white sided dolphins are there in China

Alligator There are more than 10,000 alligators in captivity in China today, mainly in the Chinese Alligator Breeding Center in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, as well as in many zoos. Since the 70s, China's scientists have embarked on a journey full of ups and downs in the artificial breeding of Chinese alligators, and now China's artificial incubation of crocodile eggs and artificial breeding of crocodile herd technology has been at the forefront of the world. With their unremitting efforts, the number of Chinese alligators has increased from 170 at the beginning of the establishment to more than 4,000, and now the number of breeding is more than 1,000 every year.

White-sided dolphins. The mammal of the genus White-sided Dolphin is endemic to China, and is also the least abundant of freshwater dolphins in the world. It is a national first-class protected animal, and is currently only distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, from Zhicheng in Hubei Province to the Yangtze River estuary of about 1,600 kilometers.

Feeds on fish, moves in groups, small groups of 2 3 heads, large groups of 10 16 heads. The population has declined rapidly in recent years. According to reports, there were more than 400 in the early 80s, reduced to about 300 in the mid-80s, about 200 in the 1990 survey, more than 130 in 1993, and less than 100 in 1995, and is listed as a world-class endangered animal.

Encyclopedia, basically accurate.

1979: China declared the baiji dolphin an endangered species.

1983: Legislation made it illegal to hunt baiji dolphins.

1986: 300 heads remaining 1990: 200 heads remaining.

1997: less than 50 (23 found).

1998: Only 7 were found.

2004: In July, the stranded and dead body of the Baiji dolphin was found in the Nanjing section of the Yangtze River.

2006: 0 heads.

2007: The Yangtze River Baiji dolphin was officially declared extinct on August 8.

2007: On August 19, a citizen in Tongling, Anhui Province, stumbled upon a white-sided dolphin in the river section of the Tongling Freshwater Dolphin National Nature Reserve and photographed it with a digital camera.

It is unclear how many white-sided dolphins are left in the world; There are probably more than 300 of them;

The baiji dolphin evolved from terrestrial animals during the long evolutionary process, and is the rarest of all cetaceans in the world. On November 14, 2018, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) was updated, and the extinction of the baiji dolphin was not confirmed yet, maintaining the original rating of "critically endangered".

December 13, 2006: Baiji dolphin experts who participated in the 2006 Yangtze River freshwater dolphin expedition announced that the baiji dolphin species may be extinct, and that even if a few individuals remain, the population will not be able to reproduce successfully. However, Chinese scholars have suggested that according to the convention, it is not possible to declare the baiji dolphin extinct after 50 years without being observed in the wild, and stressed that it is not appropriate to declare the baiji dolphin an extinct species under the current circumstances.

By the end of 2010, there were 89 specimens of baiji dolphins preserved in the world, 72 of which were recorded in gender, 34 were males and 38 were females. There are 86 specimens in China, 39 stripped specimens and 20 skeletal specimens (10 intact skeletal specimens, 1 incomplete specimen, and 9 skulls). There are also 7 impregnated specimens, of which 4 are fetuses (2 are stored in the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the other 2 belong to the Natural History Museum of Sichuan University and the Aquatic Products Group of Yueyang Agricultural Bureau), and 3 are adults (stored in the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiangsu Freshwater Fisheries Research Institute and the College of Life Sciences of Anhui Normal University).

There are three skeleton specimens collected from Dongting Lake in the world, which are in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History in the United States, the Natural History Museum in New York, and the Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom. The skull in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History in the United States is the first specimen of the Baiji dolphin in the world, which was collected by Hoy in Chenglingji in 1914 and later handed over to Miller for research. The specimen of the Natural History Museum in New York is the world's first complete specimen of the bones of the Baiji dolphin, a female, which was purchased from the Yueyang fishermen at $21 by the Wuhan team leader Pope ($21) when the museum's staff formed the "Central Asian Paleontological Expedition" to China in 1921.

The specimen from the British Museum of Natural History was accidentally acquired in 1922 by a professor of medicine at the University of Aberdeen, England, while working in China, and the female, the whole body was transported back to London, allowing British scholars to conduct the first dissecting study of the baiji dolphin and make the skeleton into a specimen.

What is extinction? The last member of this species died, and this is the only extinct species I've ever seen. Because of this experience, I have been teaching nature conservation lectures all over the country, and one of the lessons is called "The Death of Extinction", which is to combine my own feelings to tell the story of extinction and endangerment.

The staff of the white-sided dolphin aquarium did an electrocardiogram test for "Kiki". Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hao Tong.

It was in July 2001, when our "Searching for the Earth Story" lecturer group toured Wuhan, and on that day, after visiting the Wuhan Zoo, Mr. Xu Dapeng (both husband and wife died at the beginning of the new crown epidemic) took us to the Baiji Dolphin Pavilion in Wuchang. Our old friend, Dr. Zhang Xianxian, an expert in dolphin research, took us to visit the long-admired "Qiqi", the world's only captive-bred baiji dolphin.

Speaking of the story of "Kiki", it can be said that it is difficult to describe, looking at the "Kiki" who is in his twenties, still alone, bored in the quiet pool, rippling water waves, stirring up an inexplicable sadness in my heart! This last living fossil, the endemic cetacean of the Yangtze River, which is supposed to belong to nature, has evolved on the earth for more than 20 million years. Today, there are less than 20 of them, and they are another wild creature that is bound to become extinct in the hands of our generation, and is called a "living dead species" by international conservationists.

The above text can be found in my Wuhan diary written back then. At that time, the Yangtze River was not closed to fishing, and the intensifying large-scale development, pollution and destruction led to the deterioration of the ecology of our homeland, and the environmental quality of the rivers was declining, and the baiji dolphin became a victim of the tragedy of ecological decay.

The white-sided dolphin "Kiki" is playing in the water.

In 1914, the American Charles Hoy poses with the baiji dolphin he killed. **：wikimedia

From the narrative of the young man and the little yellow chicken, I know the origin of "Qiqi". On January 11, 1980, Hu Jiafa, a fisherman from Jiayu County, Hubei Province, and four others encountered baiji dolphins in the Chenglingji River near Dongting Lake. After confirming that the long-mouthed creature they saw was the object of protection that the experts usually focus on, the four immediately drove a fishing boat to round up the fish, and they caught two heads at that time and immediately reported it to the local aquatic product purchasing station.

The larger female died soon after due to her weak body; The smaller male cubs were treated by experts from the Aquatic Institute who rushed to the institute after hearing the news, and were named "Qiqi" by Academician Wu Xianwen and raised in the institute.

It is estimated that there are no more than 200 animals, and the minimum estimate is only about 50 animals. Due to the impact of human activities, the living environment of the white-sided dolphin has shrunk and deteriorated dramatically. It has now been declared extinct. In fact, humans are more like parasites to the natural world.

The world's white-sided dolphins are extinct.

1979: China declared the baiji dolphin an endangered species.

1983: Legislation made it illegal to hunt baiji dolphins.

1986: 300 remaining.

1990: 200 remaining.

1997: less than 50 (23 found).

1998: Only 7 were found.

2006: 0 heads.

2007: The Yangtze white-sided dolphin was officially declared extinct on August 8.

AlligatorIt is a first-class protected animal.

The Chinese alligator or tuó is a crocodile endemic to China and one of the smallest crocodile species in the world. Because it lives in the Yangtze River Basin, it is called "Yangtze Alligator".

In the Chinese alligator, early dinosaurs can still be found to this day.

Many characteristics of reptiles. Therefore, people call the Chinese alligator a "living fossil". In 1972, China listed it as a national first-class protected rare animal, and it has now been included in China's "List of National Key Protected Wild Animals".

February 5, 2021).

Protective measures:

In 1982, in order to save all the animals endemic to China and protected by the national first-class.

Anhui Province approved the establishment of Anhui Yangtze Alligator Provincial Reserve and Yangtze Alligator Breeding Research Center, which was upgraded to a national nature reserve in 1986. The area of the reserve is 18,565 hectares, involving five counties (districts) of Xuanzhou, Langxi, Jingxian, Guangde and Nanling of Wuhu City.

The crocodile is a national first-class protected animal.

Crocodiles survive and thrive because of their strong vitality, becoming one of the oldest living "living fossils" on Earth. Crocodiles are endangered wildlife and are internationally classified as endangered wild animals and plants under Class I protection.

China's alligator (also known as Chinese alligator sinensis) is listed as a national first-class wild protected animal.

In 2003, the State Forestry Administration approved three crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus), Gulf crocodile (C Porosus) and Siamese crocodile (commonly known as Thai crocodile) as the first batch of 54 wild animals that can be used commercially.

Chinese alligators are national first-class protected animals, they have lived on the earth 200 million years ago, and now they are endangered, so please protect them.

First, the Chinese alligator is a national first-class protected animal in China, listed in CITES Appendix I, and IUCN is listed as critically endangered.

First-class protected animals, there are only 150 wild Chinese alligators in China! Can it not be protected at the first level?

Adopt national first-class protected animals.

Xuancheng, Anhui Province has built the world's only Yangtze alligator reserve - Xuancheng Yangtze Alligator National Nature Reserve.

There may be fewer than 200 Chinese alligators in the wild, of which about 40 are adults.

Wild Chinese alligators are native to the vast areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and due to their dense population and rapid development in the past 100 years, their habitats have been continuously developed into agricultural land such as arable land, fish ponds, etc. The living space of the Chinese alligator was continuously compressed, until the number of wild Chinese alligators dropped to less than 300 in the seventies of the last century, and the living environment was also compressed to the narrow area at the junction of Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang. Chinese alligators have a docile temperament and generally do not take the initiative to attack people.

As with other animals, they tend to be aggressive when they are short-tempered during the breeding season, but this aggression usually does not cause substantial harm to humans.

The living environment of wild Chinese alligators is greatly affected by human factors, especially during the breeding period, and human activities directly affect the egg production of Chinese alligators. Human activities have led to the continuous change of their laying grounds, and the destruction of their nests by humans has also directly led to a decrease in hatching rates. Due to the fact that the habitat of the alligator is gradually turned into a farmland fish pond, it is easy for farmers to catch the alligator by mistake in the process of fishing, and the failure to release it in time or not get scientific breeding will also lead to the death of the alligator. The use of pesticides indirectly threatens the survival of Chinese alligators, and wild Chinese alligators often die by eating poisoned prey. The activities of the Chinese alligator have caused damage to agricultural production and led to the killing of the alligator.

The private trade of Chinese alligators poses a great threat to the survival of wild Chinese alligators, and the catering industry often causes poaching of wild Chinese alligators. This kind of poaching is not difficult in the habitat of the alligator with high population density, many wild alligators live around farmland or fish ponds, and the docile timidity of the alligator also brings an opportunity for poachers to hunt the alligator with the help of some simple fishing tools. This is one of the reasons why the number of wild alligators has been hovering between 200 and 300.

Although designated as a crocodile sanctuary by the Anhui Provincial Forestry Department, local villagers still use the ponds to irrigate farmland, raise cattle, fish and ducks.

Of the 13 designated sites, only 10 have reported alligator sightings. The total number of crocodiles in these areas is estimated to be about 60. Large populations can consist of 10-11 individuals, with a maximum of one female.

Only two designated sites show signs of alligator breeding, and crocodile eggs are usually collected at the Anhui Crocodile Breeding Center for incubation.

In addition to the designated spots, there are also Chinese alligators in a few other areas. But the situation in these areas is often worse than at the designated points.

It is estimated that there are only 130-150 alligators in the wild today, and they are declining at a rate of 4-6% per year.