Villagers also saw what appeared to be the tracks of another, larger specimen in neighboring Gangshan Village, said Hong Ning, Wuhu Forestry Administration director. In Wuhu, once a major habitat of the reptile, not one animal has been sighted for nearly 30 years due to human activities, he said. The Chinese alligator, also known as the Yangtze alligator, was very plentiful, particularly on the eastern seaboard. But now, with a population of no more than 150 in the wild, it is listed one of the world's most endangered creatures.
China has put the Chinese alligator at the top level of its protection list. In 1979, the Chinese Alligator Breeding Research Center was set up in Anhui. Since then, the number of alligators at the center has risen from about 200 to more than 10,000.