| America and China are the only countries where alligators are native.
In the United States alligators can be found in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas and Southern Oklahoma. There are millions of gators in the wild. Over 2 million in Florida and Louisiana alone.
The Yangtze River Valley is the only known location of the endangered Chinese alligator. It is estimated there are only about 120 left in the wild (4-26-2011, National Geographic News Watch).
Update March 9, 2014: Chinese alligators are being bred in captivity in China at the Anhui Research Center for Chinese Alligator Reproduction and the Changxing Nature Reserve and Breeding Center for Chinese Alligators. Captive breeding is also carried out at other sites including the Bronx Zoo in New York and the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida. According to a 2013 report by the Changxing Nature Reserve (CNRBRCCA) there are now over 10,000 Chinese alligators in captivity. Some have been released back into the wild in China.
January 22, 2016: Conservation Status of Alligator Sinensis (Chinese alligator) - Critically Endangered.
April 16, 2018: According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) the Chinese alligator remains on the critically endangered list. Updated information is hard to come by however, we can point out that captive breeding of Alligator Sinensis continues at the Memphis Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Toledo Zoo, St. Louis Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo, San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian National Zoo. Some gators hatched at these locations continue to be reintroduced into the wild. |
