Cannot eat. The alligator is a national first-level protected animal.
The Chinese alligator, also known as tuó, is a crocodile unique to China and one of the smallest crocodile species in the world. It is both ancient and a very rare reptile that is now endangered in the world. Many characteristics of earlier dinosaur-like reptiles can still be found in the alligator. Therefore, people call the alligator a "living fossil". Therefore, the alligator is of great significance to people's study of the rise and fall of ancient reptiles and the study of paleogeology and biological evolution. my country has listed the alligator as a national protected animal, and hunting is strictly prohibited. In order to continue the race of this precious animal, my country has also established alligator nature reserves and artificial breeding farms in Anhui, Zhejiang and other places.
The food of the alligator includes snails, river mussels, shrimps, crabs, birds, rats, frogs, snakes, hares, etc.
The unique hunting method of the alligator:
When the alligator encounters enemies or hunts for food on land, it can jump to catch it. The tail can also sweep violently. Unfortunately, although the alligator has seemingly sharp and sharp teeth, they are actually grooved teeth. These teeth cannot bite and chew food. They can only "clamp" the food like pliers and then swallow it whole. Therefore, when the alligator catches larger terrestrial animals, it cannot bite them to death, but drags them into the water and drowns them; on the contrary, when the alligator catches larger aquatic animals, it throws them onto the land and kills the prey. Death from lack of oxygen. When encountering a large piece of food that cannot be swallowed, the alligator often uses its big mouth to "clamp" the food and beat it violently on a stone or tree trunk until it is soft or broken, and then opens its mouth to swallow it. If that doesn't work, it simply smashes it. The prey is thrown aside and left to rot naturally until it is rotten enough to be swallowed. The alligator also has a special stomach. This stomach not only has a lot of stomach acid but also has high acidity, so its digestive function is particularly good.
Morphological characteristics:
The alligator is similar to the alligator of the same genus, but is much smaller. Adult alligators rarely exceed 2.1 meters in length, and are generally only 1.5 meters long. Not as huge as the African crocodile and Thai crocodile.
The alligator has a short, blunt snout and is a type of alligator. Weight is approximately 36 kg. Their heads are relatively larger and their scales have more granular and banded textures.
The whole body has obvious divisions, including head, neck, trunk, limbs and tail. The skin of the whole body is leathery and covered with leathery nails, with the nails on the abdomen being higher. The back is dark brown or dark yellow, the abdomen is gray, the tail is long and flat on the sides, and there are gray and black or gray and yellow surgical stripes. Its tail is a weapon for self-defense and attacking enemies, and it also plays a role in propelling the body forward in the water. The limbs are short and powerful, and there are obvious differences between its pair of forelimbs and a pair of hind limbs: the forelimbs have five fingers with no webs between the fingers; the hind limbs have four toes with webs between the toes.
These structural features allow it to live both in water and on land.
The body length of adult alligators rarely exceeds 2.1 meters, and is generally only 1.5 meters long. Weight is approximately 36 kg. The alligator's body has obvious divisions, including the head, neck, trunk, limbs and tail. The skin all over the body is leathery and covered with leathery nails, with the nails on the abdomen being higher. The back is dark brown or dark yellow, the abdomen is gray, the tail is long and flat on the sides, and there are gray and black or gray and yellow surgical stripes. Its tail is a weapon for self-defense and attacking enemies, and it also plays a role in propelling the body forward in the water. The limbs are short and powerful, and there are obvious differences between its pair of forelimbs and a pair of hind limbs: the forelimbs have five fingers with no webs between the fingers; the hind limbs have four toes with webs between the toes. These structural features allow it to live both in water and on land. Distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China. China's unique species has become a first-level nationally protected animal in my country due to its scarcity.
Breeding season and environment:
Some people call the alligator a crocodile and regard it as an aquatic animal. In fact, the alligator has no gills and is not an aquatic animal. It is just that the alligator returned to the water and developed some characteristics to adapt to life in the water, and it has the ability to live in both land and water. In this way, alligators expand their living areas, making it easier for them to become winners in the struggle for survival.
Alligators dig burrows and live beside rivers, lakes and ponds. They are ferocious and feed on various mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and crustaceans. Mating occurs in June. Female and male crocodiles only crawl together during the breeding season and live separately during the non-breeding season.
Male crocodiles will make a cry when they are in estrus, and the female crocodile will also cry out in response to the call. Eggs are laid from July to August, and each clutch can lay more than 20 eggs. The eggs are laid in the grass, covered with weeds, and protected by the female crocodile. They are hatched by natural temperatures. The incubation period is about 60 days. After the young crocodiles hatch, they are led by the female crocodile to look for food. It is difficult for young crocodiles to find enough food within a month, so the survival rate of young crocodiles is very low. The alligator is the only crocodile with the habit of hibernating. It hibernates in caves in October every year and does not come out until April or May of the following year.
Alligators like to be quiet. They often live in seclusion in caves during the day and go out to look for food at night. However, it also comes out during the day and especially likes to bask in the sun on the shore and beach near the cave. It often closes its eyes tightly, crawls motionless, and is in a semi-sleep state, giving people the illusion of slow movement. However, when it encounters enemies or finds food, it will immediately swing its thick tail vigorously from side to side, Quickly sink to the bottom of the water to escape enemies or chase food. Its favorite foods are snails, river mussels, small fish, shrimps, water birds, hares, water snakes and other animals. The alligator eats a lot and can store a large amount of absorbed nutrients in its body. Therefore, it has a strong ability to withstand hunger and can survive a long hibernation period.
The relationship between alligator incubation temperature and sex ratio. A gene on the Z chromosome plays a role in determining sex, but not a gene on the W chromosome that determines femaleness, and this gene is inactivated by high temperatures. These findings also raise the possibility that sex chromosomes exist in other reptiles that exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination. Until now, researchers had generally assumed that sex was determined either by genes on chromosomes or by the temperature of embryonic development, but not both. When the temperature is between 31℃ and 32℃, the eggs are female; when the temperature is between 32℃ and 33℃, the eggs are male; when the temperature is between 33℃ and 34℃, the eggs are female. Within 30℃, the number of males and females is almost the same, but below 28℃, the eggs will die. The biggest impact on crocodiles is actually not the reduction of habitat, but the greenhouse effect caused by the large amount of carbon emitted by human activities, which changes the sex ratio within the population, causing the alligator to be on the verge of extinction.
The alligator, a national first-level protected animal, is a rare species unique to China and the smallest among the global crocodile family. Many characteristics of earlier dinosaur-like reptiles can still be found in the alligator. Therefore, people call the alligator a "living fossil". By reviewing historical documents and fossil evidence, researchers found that many areas of Shanghai, including Chongming, were once the historical distribution areas of alligators. In the mid-19th century, alligators were widely distributed in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to Jiangling, Hubei Province in the Three Gorges Mountains. Along the Yangtze River Estuary in Shanghai, from 1920 to 1940, the British naturalist Sowerby witnessed alligators being caught in the Huangpu River in Shanghai many times; alligator fossils were also discovered in Minhang and Maqiao, Shanghai.
However, since the 1960s, the wild alligator population has been nearly extinct due to changes in its habitat and the impact of human production activities. Currently, there are no more than 130 wild alligators distributed in the fragmented habitat in southern Anhui Province, and it is difficult to find wild alligators in Chongming.
According to Article 30 of the "Wild Animal Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", it is prohibited to produce and operate food made from wild animals and their products under national key protection, or to use food without legal source certificates. Food made from wild animals that are not protected by the state and their products. It is prohibited to illegally purchase nationally protected wild animals and their products for consumption.
Illegal purchase of nationally protected wild animals and their products for consumption is prohibited.
According to Article 49 of the "Wild Animal Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", in violation of the provisions of Article 30 of this Law, the production, operation and use of national key protected wild animals and their products or without Making food from non-state-protected wild animals and their products that have been proven to be of legal origin, or illegally purchasing state-protected wild animals and their products for consumption shall be handled by the wildlife protection department or market supervision and management department of the people's government at or above the county level in accordance with their duties. The division of labor shall order the cessation of illegal activities, confiscate wild animals and their products and illegal income, and impose a fine of not less than two times but not more than ten times the value of wild animals and their products; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.