Eight-four alligators that escaped from a flooded farm are at the risk of being the next meal of Wuhu residents in Anhui Province.
At least one of the 92 reptiles has reportedly been captured, cooked and eaten by local residents even if the Chinese alligator is protected by national wildlife protection laws. Because of the possible violation of regulations, six people have been arrested as suspects in the illegal poaching and killing of the gator, reported Dajiang Evening Post.
The short video of a one-meter alligator being boiled in a cooking pot alerted police. One of the six suspects had surrendered to police and recounted finding an escaped gator in a grass area on July 5. He captured it, killed the reptile, brought the animal to a restaurant owned by his friends where the reptile was cooked and feasted on, according to South China Morning Post.
Although alligators, like the one in Disneyland Florida that grabbed and killed a six-year-old boy, are dangerous, local authorities which deployed teams to look for the missing gators assured residents the reptiles are not aggressive animals. However, the Chinese alligator – known as the Yangtze alligator – has a historical record of attacking people.
Their number had greatly diminished over the years because of overhunting and pollution. Despite being protected by wildlife laws, the breeder and restaurants could cook the Chinese alligator so long as they secure permits from forestry authorities. But Yangtze alligators with first-grade protection under national legislation could not be bred for commercial purposes.
The overflow of the Yangtze River due to heavy rains brought by typhoon Nepartak caused water to rise 50 centimeters above the reptile’s steel enclosure, releasing the alligators. One eight have been recaptures, one found on the doorsteps of an elderly farmer’s house in Huaqiao town, reported News 7.