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Alligators

Alligator

Alligators are crocodilians in the genus Alligator (family Alligatoridae). The genus includes two living species: the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis). American alligators primarily inhabit freshwater lakes, slow-moving rivers, and associated wetlands, but they also occur in brackish water and, rarely, salt water. By digging “alligator holes” and trails, they create dry-season refuges for fish and wading birds and increase habitat diversity in wetlands. The Chinese alligator is restricted to a handful of small, fragmented habitats in the lower Yangtze River basin (mainly in southeastern Anhui Province) and is listed as Critically Endangered. Recent field surveys and reintroduction efforts reported in the scientific literature suggest the observed wild population may now be in the hundreds, but captive populations still far exceed the number of animals living in the wild.

Alligators are crocodilians in the genus Alligator (family Alligatoridae). The genus includes two living species: the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis). American alligators primarily inhabit freshwater lakes, slow-moving rivers, and associated wetlands, but they also occur in brackish water and, rarely, salt water. By digging “alligator holes” and trails, they create dry-season refuges for fish and wading birds and increase habitat diversity in wetlands. The Chinese alligator is restricted to a handful of small, fragmented habitats in the lower Yangtze River basin (mainly in southeastern Anhui Province) and is listed as Critically Endangered. Recent field surveys and reintroduction efforts reported in the scientific literature suggest the observed wild population may now be in the hundreds, but captive populations still far exceed the number of animals living in the wild.