Text | Edited by Bermuda Science Institute
| Bermuda Institute of Popular Science
When it comes to crocodiles, what is the first picture in everyone's mind? Big mouth, cold eyes or fierce appearance? So have you ever thought that there is another kind of crocodile that is and is naturally timid . will run when it sees someone. After getting familiar with it, can touch its head ? This kind of crocodile is the unique small crocodile in our country - alligator .
Alligator, commonly known as Chinese catfish , Tulong. It is also called Piglet Dragon because the growl of the male alligator showing love to the opposite sex during the breeding period is very similar to a pig's cry. It is also known as living fossil and is the world's most famous alligator. The smallest crocodile in the world, the adult alligator is about 1.5m in length, and the largest is only 2.4m, which is much taller than Yao Ming. If he could play basketball, he might even become a strong player in the Chinese sports world, but compared to For those old watchers whose body length is generally 5.5-7 meters and can reach up to 10 meters, the alligator can be called petite and exquisite .
There are many folk myths and legends about alligators in our country. The dragon in the phrase subduing the dragon and subduing the tiger that we often hear refers to this little guy. "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" has also written about a monster called Zhupolong. It is said to be shaped like a dragon, but shorter than a dragon. It can fly sideways. It often flies out of the water and catches geese and ducks along the river bank to eat. In fact, the monster is nothing but an alligator jumping out of the water to hunt for food.
also said that there is an animal called a dragon, which can spit mist, cause rain, and can be used as a ghost. When the dragon stirs up trouble, it will cause flooding and destroy the countryside. It is also about the alligator, but the alligator in real life is However, it does not have the ability to control the wind and rain or turn into a ghost. In fact, it is just one of the victims of the flood, just because it lives at the bottom of the swamp and feeds on various beasts, birds, reptiles, crustaceans and other animals. , and it stays day and night, so you can hardly see it at ordinary times.
When the flood hit, the house I dug out to live in was washed away, and I had no choice but to find another place to live. It was easy for others to see me, so I was mistaken for the creator of the flood disaster. It can only be said that he appeared in a different place. At such an appropriate time, took such a big blame for out of thin air.
Although the myths and legends about the alligator are false, it is not unfair to say that it is an alien among crocodiles. Among the currently known alligators, it is the only species distributed outside the Americas. It is also the only species among all crocodiles that can hibernate. The hibernation period can even last up to half a year. In October every year, after eating and drinking, they will hibernate in their carefully arranged nests until April or May of the next year. It has just come out to move, and it can definitely be called the longest hibernating creature in the world.
Everyone knows that the metabolism of an organism during hibernation will be reduced to the lowest level, and it will not eat during this period. Maybe it is because it eats less, is always sleeping, and does not like to move, so it cannot grow. After all, Its close relative, the Mississippian crocodile, which is also a freshwater crocodile, can usually grow to 4.9-6.1 meters. Do you think my guess is reasonable? In addition, the alligator is the slowest among the existing crocodiles, and has the docile temperament. Although it looks fierce at first glance, it is actually very shy.
You may not believe it when you say that crocodiles are shy and docile. In fact, I didn’t believe it before I learned about the alligator. After all, I have seen a lot of news on the Internet about crocodiles attacking humans , but I can’t stand the alligator. They are like aliens in China.
Although they have lived on the earth for more than 150 million years and once dominated the earth together with the dinosaurs, although they are called the oldest longevity star in the history of the earth's evolution, some of the characteristics of earlier dinosaurs and other reptiles can still be found in them. Traces were found on the body. Although it is a national first-level protected animal, it is rarer than the giant panda. It is supposed to be an existence that can walk sideways, but who made it born with only a sesame guts and a very docile temperament? , there is a gentle heart hidden under the seemingly ferocious appearance.
Although alligators are carnivores, humans are not on their diet, and their attitude towards humans is more intimate. Even wild alligators almost will not actively attack humans unless you insist. If you provoke a female alligator when it is nesting and breeding, you will have to say that you deserve it. However, this kind of attack will generally not cause substantial harm to people, and will be more threatening and intimidating. Usually, Sometimes they will run away when they see a stranger. If you get familiar with it, you can even enjoy the feeling of touching the head of a crocodile.
In 2016, Wuhu County, Anhui Province also experienced waterlogging due to heavy rainfall. crocodiles in Crocodile Lake Farm took advantage of the flood to escape into nearby farmland. The local tourism bureau also specially announced They submitted documents to notify. It is said that about ninety crocodiles escaped, but only about ten were caught in time. At that time, many people thought that the local government was not doing anything and were worried that so many crocodiles were wandering in nearby farmland and could eat people. manage. Facts have proved that this worry is completely unnecessary. The crocodile that escaped at that time was an alligator. It was not the breeding season of the alligator. Based on the temperament of the alligator, it will not actively attack humans. Until the end, all the alligators who escaped were "captured" , and there was no incident of alligators attacking people. There were even some alligators who escaped and were killed with sticks and cooked .
Not only artificially bred alligators will not actively attack humans, but the same is true for wild alligators. In 2020, a woman in Xuancheng, Anhui took a picture of herself washing dishes guarding accompanying the alligator next to her, although she had once captured her own alligator. He eats chickens, but he has never hurt anyone in the past few years. He will stay away from strangers who pass by, and the woman will occasionally feed him some food.
In addition to being close to people, alligators have also made great contributions to mankind in agriculture. In the farming era, more accurately grasping the weather is the key to obtaining a good harvest. Therefore, farmers in different regions have summarized weather forecasts that have been passed down from generation to generation. The villagers in Tuqiao Village on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River basically rely on earth dragons to understand the weather conditions. Whenever the earth dragons roar collectively, it means that heavy rain will come in less than half a day. With this method, Villagers can be fully prepared before heavy rains come and effectively reduce losses caused by heavy rains. Would you still be afraid of such a cute, docile, timid and weather forecast little girl?
Although the alligator looks like a tiger when facing humans, is the representative of sniffing the rose , but when people get serious about hunting, they are still quite imposing. The Alligator, which belongs to the Alligator family, looks much softer than its cousins. It has short legs that are famous in the crocodile world, coupled with a U-shaped mouth and a round head, the whole crocodile looks It is round and round, and after looking at it for a long time, it still makes people feel pretty and cute. It is indeed the crocodile of that belongs exclusively to in our country.
My favorite thing to do besides lying quietly and basking in the sun is to dig holes. Although the legs are short, people can use their claws, tail, and head to fight. It is said that a cunning rabbit has three burrows, and the alligator's burrows are not just three burrows. is simply like a small underground maze . During the day, you can lie down and bask in the sun at the entrance of the cave. At night, you can also quietly come out of the cave to hunt. It perfectly meets all your life needs. If any audience friend If you plan to build an underground maze , why not consider asking Alligator to make a reference plan for you. After all, they are professional in building underground mazes.
However, don’t underestimate the alligator just because it is considered cute in the crocodile world. After all, it is a carnivorous beast. It is not called a water fighter for nothing. It likes to fight ambushes. It can Swim upright in the water slowly, pretending to be a piece of driftwood, quietly waiting for the prey to fall into the trap, and then will kill with one strike. Although its teeth cannot support it in chewing food, its teeth can be replaced with new for life. Audience friends with bad teeth, are the tears of envy already flowing from the corners of the mouth?
Some friends may also think so. Question, as a beast with such strong survivability, it even survived the Cretaceous and Triassic periods. How did it survive into a species that is rarer than the giant panda?
In fact, this is also related to some of the living habits of the alligator. In some related records of the Ming Dynasty, the pig dragon often stole farmers' livestock and poultry, and liked to drill holes and build nests in the dams, causing the river banks to collapse and cause floods. In order to alleviate The people were hunted in large numbers due to the loss of the people. Coupled with people's over-exploitation of the ecological environment, the alligator's living environment has been greatly damaged. The number of wild alligators has also decreased sharply. At one time, there were only 150 left, and it was known to the world The IUCN lists the species as critically endangered.
Fortunately, with changes in policies, the living environment of wild alligators is getting better step by step, and the number of wild alligators is also gradually increasing. Maybe one day we will be able to meet such a cute little creature in the wild. Audience friends Are you looking forward to meeting alligators in the wild?
