Crocodile Island

Alligator sinensis is a unique reptile in China. It has lived all over the Yangtze River Basin for generations and has a more ancient history than human beings. Its ancestors first appeared in the Mesozoic Triassic, which has been more than 200 million years. In the Mesozoic era when reptiles flourished, Alligator sinensis was one of the "Masters" of the earth and dominated the whole world. By the Cenozoic Era 70 million years ago, reptiles and dinosaurs were mostly extinct on the earth. The Chinese alligator, together with more than 20 other crocodiles, continued to experience the decline of reptiles and the rise of mammals, becoming the survivors of the earth. Alligator sinensis, known as alligator in ancient Chinese books, is a kind of alligator living in fresh water. It used to be widely distributed and inhabited in lakes, marshes, hills and streams along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, reed, bamboo forests and miscellaneous irrigation areas. Six or seven thousand years ago, there were alligators in Hemudu area of Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. Until the Tang Dynasty, there were alligators in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces. At that time, they were not only widely distributed, but also in large numbers. In ancient times, it was often called "alligator drum" by its skin drum. With the development of economy and the increase of population in the Yangtze River Basin, the distribution area of Chinese alligator is shrinking rapidly, and the number of Chinese alligator is also decreasing sharply. Chinese alligator has become one of the endangered wild animals. There are 31 Chinese alligators on the crocodile island in our garden.

Crocodile Island

Crocodile island is one of the new tourism hotspots in Zhuhai. More than 100 alligators were introduced from Thailand and Malaysia from 1990 to 1995. Over 100 alligator juveniles have been hatched in recent years. At present, 70 native alligators have been introduced from Anhui Province, and the scale of cultivation is expanding. Here, the most exciting is the crocodile training performance. These ferocious beasts of the same ancestry as dinosaurs are extremely tame at the mercy of their trainers. Tourists can imitate the whistles of the breeders, call the big and small crocodiles, feed them by hand, and they will have a unique pleasure. There are other wonderful performances on the island, such as monkeys carrying water and birds speaking dialect, each with "unique skills", and peacock opening screen, crane shining wings and pony galloping are eye openers.

Introduction to scenic spots

At the intersection of jianfengqiao Lake in Baiteng lake, you can see the magnificent and majestic Thai gatehouse of crocodile island. The broad parking lot in front of the gate can park hundreds of buses at one time. After entering the gate, there is a very eye-catching large crocodile statue as high as 4 meters. Many tourists have taken photos here. More than 10 crocodile pools are 100 meters away from the statue Among the flowers, on the green land and in the pool, there are four species of alligators, which are called "fire breathing dragon" and "mackerel dragon" by our ancestors. They are nearly a thousand in size. The smallest one is a young alligator that has just come out of shell. The largest one is more than 4 meters long and weighs a thousand kilograms. In addition, there are a number of ostrich, bear, peacock, monkey, boa constrictor, camel, puma horse for visitors to watch and take photos, antique cannon, water wheel, water bike and other award-winning entertainment for visitors to play.

There are also many performing venues on the island for tourists to perform cockfighting, acrobatics, magic, song and dance. Many art troupes perform here in turn every day. Since June 1997, they have specially launched crocodile training performances. The main programs include water fighting crocodiles, human crocodile kissing, crocodile climbing stairs, human crocodile sleeping together, crocodile exploration, human crocodile hugging, monkey playing, etc. they perform four performances a day, thrilling and exciting Tourists can also personally feed crocodiles, appreciate the various behaviors of hundreds of crocodiles when they are grazing together, or tease crocodiles with fishing rods to make them jump out of the water for food.

geographical position

70 native Chinese alligators were introduced from Anhui Province, and the scale of breeding was expanding.

Here, the most exciting is the crocodile training performance. These ferocious beasts of the same ancestry as dinosaurs are extremely tame at the mercy of their trainers. Tourists can imitate the whistles of the breeders, call the big and small crocodiles, feed them by hand, and they will have a unique pleasure.

There are other wonderful performances on the island, such as monkeys carrying water and birds speaking dialect, each with "unique skills", and peacock opening screen, crane shining wings and pony galloping are eye openers.

History of development

Baitenghu crocodile island was founded in 1990 by Professor Chen Qixiang and his wife from Institute of shark biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in cooperation with Baitenghu Tourism Corporation. Alligators have been extinct in China for thousands of years, and few in the world have survived. In order to study alligators, a Shantou research institute took the lead in importing 20 alligators from Thailand in 1980. However, because they were not used to the local ecological environment, they were difficult to survive and died a lot.

At the critical moment of whether the alligator can survive in southern China, Professor Chen Qixiang, who is dedicated to marine biology research, boldly experimented according to the good ecological environment of Baiteng lake. At the beginning of 1990, he introduced two male and one female alligators from Thailand and 70 Chinese alligators from Anhui to breed in Baiteng lake. On June 29, 1991, he successfully made the alligator lay 33 eggs, including 12 eggs After more than 70 days and nights of careful observation and care, the alligator finally broke out of its shell, gave out a cooing sound and came to the world. Artificial incubation of alligator is the first success in China, which is a great initiative, and it fills the gap of alligator breeding in China. After the news came out, many domestic and foreign tourists were attracted by it and received more than 300000 tourists in the first year of its opening. After years of artificial incubation and introduction, Baitenghu crocodile island has developed to nearly 1000 crocodiles of four species, including Thai crocodile, Malay crocodile and Chinese alligator and hybrid crocodile.

Traffic information

Take bus No.301, 503, 504, 601b, 601, 601 night line, 602a, 602, 603, 603, 609, K4, K5, K6, urban rail connection line to "crocodile island" station.

Address: nongmingxincun North Road, Doumen District, Zhuhai

Longitude: 113.32499694824

Latitude: 22.183500289917

Tel: 0756-5566882

Tour time: 1 hour

Ticket information: 50 yuan

Opening hours: 9:00-21:00

Chinese PinYin : E Yu Dao