Critically Endangered · Native to eastern China

Chinese alligator

Alligator sinensis Fauvel, 1879

Also called Yangtze alligator
Data updated October 2026

Chinese alligator lying on a flat rock under palm fronds, showing a short snout and dark banded body
Fig. 1 — Adult resting on a rock. It is small and stocky for an alligator.
Chinese alligator head and front body among grass at the edge of a pond
Fig. 2 — Head detail. The snout is short and slightly upturned.

At a glance

A small, stocky alligator of the lower Yangtze River basin in eastern China. It spends much of its life in burrows and is one of the most endangered crocodilians. Fewer than 150 are thought to remain in the wild.

01

Identification

The Chinese alligator looks like a small, chunky version of the American alligator. The head is more robust and the snout is short and slightly upturned. It has bony plates in the upper eyelids and in the skin of the belly, which the American alligator lacks. Adults are dark gray to black, often with faint lighter bands.

  1. 01Small size. Adults are usually about 5 feet long.
  2. 02Short, upturned snout. Broad and blunt, tilting slightly upward at the tip.
  3. 03Armored eyelids and belly. Bony plates in the upper eyelids and belly skin.

Commonly confused with

02

Size

02 ft4 ft6 ft8 ft Typical adult · about 5 ft (1.5 m)

Adults usually reach about 5 feet (1.5 m); females average about 4½ feet. The largest on record measured 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 m). Most weigh less than 50 pounds (23 kg), though big adults can reach about 85 to 90 pounds (39–41 kg). Hatchlings are only a few inches long and weigh about an ounce.

03

Range & habitat

Chinese alligator seen from above resting in dark, shallow water
Fig. 3 — Resting in shallow water. Wild animals now survive mostly in small ponds and ditches.

Chinese alligators once lived across the middle and lower Yangtze River region, from Shanghai to Hubei Province. Today they survive only in a small area of the lower Yangtze, mainly in Anhui Province, with some in Zhejiang.

Their natural habitat is slow-moving rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and swamps. Most of these wetlands have been turned into rice paddies, and the remaining wild alligators now live mainly in ditches and ponds on farmland.

04

Diet

Chinese alligators feed mostly on snails, clams, crustaceans, insects and fish. They also take young waterfowl and rodents when they can. Most hunting is done at night.

Feeds on

  • Snails and clams
  • Crustaceans
  • Fish
  • Insects
  • Young waterfowl and rodents

05

Behavior & seasons

This alligator digs extensive burrows into banks, with several chambers, entrances and pools. It stays in its tunnels for much of the day, especially when people are nearby and in cool weather. It spends the cold months dormant in its burrow, from early fall until late spring.

06

Reproduction

Mating takes place in early summer, usually around June. The female builds a mound nest of rotting vegetation and lays 10 to 40 eggs, with fewer than two dozen being most common. The eggs incubate for about two months and hatch in September. The mother helps the young reach water. Females mature at four to five years and may breed into their fifties.

07

Conservation

The Chinese alligator is listed as Critically Endangered. Zoo and specialist sources estimate fewer than 130 to 150 animals in the wild. The main threat is the loss of wetlands to farming. It is protected in China as a first-class rare animal.

Captive breeding has been very successful. The first captive-born Chinese alligators were released into their native range in 2003. About 100 are managed in North American zoos under a Species Survival Plan.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages