HEFEI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Yangtze alligator, which has lived on Earth for over 200 million years, is a first-class protected animal endemic to China.
A wild population resources survey of Yangtze alligators, also known as Chinese alligators, jointly carried out by a Chinese alligator national nature reserve in Anhui and the College of Life Sciences of Anhui Normal University, was officially launched in May.
Investigations of the wild Yangtze alligators' population, distribution, habitat quality and conservation status will be conducted during the survey.
Over the years, the nature reserve has been better protecting wild Yangtze alligators by releasing them into the wild, setting up protection stations, employing local residents as ecological rangers, and conducting science popularization activities, etc.
This photo taken on May 11, 2023 shows a Yangtze alligator found by investigators during a survey at a Chinese alligator national nature reserve in east China's Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)
Investigators take photos of traces of Yangtze alligators during a survey at a Chinese alligator national nature reserve in east China's Anhui Province, May 9, 2023. (Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua)
This photo taken on May 8, 2023 shows a Yangtze alligator found by investigators during a survey at a Chinese alligator national nature reserve in east China's Anhui Province. (Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua)
This photo taken on June 2, 2022 shows artificially-bred Chinese alligators to be released to the wild at a national nature reserve in Langxi County, east China's Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Du Yu)
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