Seeing Chinese Alligator

As a child we all have our trip to the zoo to see all the amazing animals that we can’t see in our backyards. We get the opportunity to go to the reptile cage or building, whatever it may be in your zoo, and get a chance to look at the alligators. Did you know there are only two types of alligators in the world? The ones we usually see at the zoos are the American Alligators, however, there is another one called the Chinese Alligator that is an endangered animal that needs protection. There are around ten thousand Chinese Alligators left in the entire world.If you think you can spot the differences in the two different alligators, I think you may be wrong. There are only two minor differences between the American and Chinese Alligators.

While the American Alligators are very long and have a higher weight, the Chinese Alligator is the smaller of the two, averaging around six feet in length and only around one hundred pounds. The only other difference is that while the American Alligator’s body armor extends the length of its body, it leaves the belly area nice and smooth. The Chinese Alligator’s body armor wraps around the entire body, including the belly area, keeping it safe from those predators that would try to get it from the underside.

The Chinese Alligator is now listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or the IUCN for short. To help increase the population, they are being taken captive into zoos and rescues where they are bred and kept secure until they reach an age appropriate enough to be released back into the wild in China. Hopefully these efforts, along with the efforts of the Chinese people, will keep them from going instinct indefinitely.