STORY: Exploring Chinese alligator nature reserve in Anhui Province
DATELINE: July 31, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:24
LOCATION: HEFEI, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of Yangtze alligators
2. STANDUP 1 (English): HE XIYUE, Xinhua correspondent
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): SUN SIQING, Researcher of the administration of the Anhui Yangtze Alligator Reserve
4. STANDUP 2 (English): HE XIYUE, Xinhua correspondent
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): SUN SIQING, Researcher of the administration of the Anhui Yangtze Alligator Reserve
 
STORYLINE:
 
The Yangtze alligator, which has lived on Earth for over 200 million years, is a first-class protected animal endemic to China. Find out how the "living dinosaurs" are bred and protected in a nature reserve in China's Anhui.
 
STANDUP 1 (English): HE XIYUE, Xinhua correspondent
"Look at these white eggs in this box beside me. Can you guess what they are? The animals hatched from these eggs are also known as 'living dinosaurs' in China. These are the eggs of the Yangtze alligators, also known as the Chinese alligators, and they are one of the oldest reptiles living on earth. We're now in a Chinese alligator national nature reserve located in Xuancheng City, east China's Anhui Province. Today, let's explore the Chinese alligator, or the Yangtze alligator, this ancient and rare animal endemic to China."
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): SUN SIQING, Researcher of administration of Anhui Yangtze Alligator Reserve
"The Yangtze alligator is an oviparous animal that lays eggs from the end of June to the beginning of July every year. The place we see now is one of our incubation centers, and the eggs of Yangtze alligators are being hatched.
The Yangtze alligator is a very ancient species. They are reptiles, and they hibernate in winter. Their history dates back 230 million years, predating the dinosaurs.
At the end of the 1970s, China and the United States established a joint scientific investigation team. At that time, the investigation concluded that the overall number of the Chinese alligators in China was less than 500, and it was actually a very endangered species. Therefore, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the Chinese alligator as a critically endangered species.
The primary purpose of this nature reserve is to protect this species. There are more than 10,000 Chinese alligators in our reserve, and now there are about 1,200 Chinese alligators in the wild. After years of protection and a series of measures including artificial breeding and reintroduction of the captive-born alligators, their wild population has growth significantly."
 
STANDUP 2 (English): HE XIYUE, Xinhua correspondent
"We have arrived at the place for the Yangtze alligators to overwinter here."
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): SUN SIQING, Researcher of administration of Anhui Yangtze Alligator Reserve
"The method we adopt is to build semi-underground wintering rooms near the water, simulating the internal structure of the Yangtze alligators' caves in the wild, with facilities to monitor, and keep warm and moisture inside."
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hefei, China.
(XHTV)