Animal
Chinese alligator
A small crocodilian that spends winter in burrows beside water.
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The Chinese alligator occurs in a small area along the lower Yangtze River in eastern China. Its habitats include swamps, lakes, ponds and wetlands. Reaching up to two metres in length and 46 kilograms in weight, it is a small member of its family. It is nocturnal. Aquatic invertebrates, including crustaceans, mussels and snails, dominate its diet, though it also eats smaller vertebrates.
Its activity changes markedly in winter. The alligator enters brumation, a state of torpor and slowed metabolism characteristic of cold-blooded animals. It does not spend this period on the bottom of a pond. Instead, it winters on land in burrows it digs close to water. Both the water body and a suitable bank therefore matter in its life cycle.
Chinese alligators reproduce by laying eggs. They can live for 30-50 years in the wild and even longer in human care. Habitat loss to farmland, especially rice fields, and hunting threaten the species. Protecting wetlands preserves feeding grounds as well as banks where the animals can find shelter for winter.
Para niños
The Chinese alligator is smaller than many of its famous relatives. It grows to two metres long and can weigh up to 46 kilograms. In the wild it lives in eastern China, along the lower Yangtze River. It uses swamps, lakes, ponds and wetlands.
It is mostly active at night. It eats aquatic invertebrates such as snails, mussels and crustaceans, as well as smaller animals with backbones. It reproduces by laying eggs.
In winter the alligator slows down. This state is called brumation: the body uses less energy and the animal remains torpid. It winters in a burrow it digs on land, close to water. It therefore needs both wetlands and a suitable bank. When people turn its habitat into farmland, there are fewer places to find food and shelter safely through winter.
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Where does a Chinese alligator spend winter in brumation?
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- Chinese alligator