
The Chinese Alligator
Ecology, Behavior, Conservation, and Culture
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published on 12. July 2010
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-8018-9348-3 (ISBN)
Description
The rare and endangered Chinese alligator has long held a prominent place in Chinese culture and mythology. Here John Thorbjarnarson and Xiaoming Wang, who have been at the forefront of efforts to conserve these remarkable creatures, provide comprehensive details about the biology, behavior, history, and cultural and conservation significance of the animal thought to be the basis of the Chinese dragon legend. Though more than 10,000 Chinese alligators live in zoos and breeding facilities, just a few hundred still exist in the wild. Much of their natural habitat has been lost to human development, leaving wild Chinese alligators clinging to small areas where the Yangtze River meets the Pacific Ocean. Thorbjarnarson and Wang recount how and why the species declined to the point where it is perhaps the most threatened of all crocodilians, discuss ongoing conservation works, and project what the future is likely to bring for the Chinese alligator. Their scientific synthesis sits in stark contrast to the alligators' unique relationship with Chinese culture, where folklore views it as a water deity related to dragons.
Illustrated throughout and featuring the most up-to-date biological information available, this volume is a complete overview of the Chinese alligator, a conservation and cultural icon.
Illustrated throughout and featuring the most up-to-date biological information available, this volume is a complete overview of the Chinese alligator, a conservation and cultural icon.
Reviews / Votes
A well-written, well-referenced, thoughtful and sobering work. Highly recommended. Choice 2010More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paper over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
53 s/w Zeichnungen, 41 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder
41 Halftones, black and white; 53 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 261 mm
Width: 185 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
743 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-9348-3 (9780801893483)
DOI
10.56021/9780801893483
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
One of the world's most respected experts on crocodilians, John Thorbjarnarson was a senior conservation zoologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society during the writing and designing of this book. Dr. Thorbjarnarson was a tireless advocate for conservation, and it was during one of his many conservation-related trips in early 2010 that he contracted a fatal case of malaria. Xiaoming Wang is an expert on the Chinese alligator, a professor of biology at East China Normal University, director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, and one of China's leading conservation biologists.
Content
Foreword, by George B. Schaller
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. The Earth Dragon
2. The Family of Dragons: Crocodilians of the World and Their Conservation
3. The History of Crocodilians in China
4. Alligators as Dragons
5. A Dragon's Life: Ecology and Behavior of the Chinese Alligator
6. The Dragon's Demise: Why the Chinese Alligator Disappeared
7. Habitat and Population Status
8. The Future of the Alligator in China
Literature Cited
Index
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. The Earth Dragon
2. The Family of Dragons: Crocodilians of the World and Their Conservation
3. The History of Crocodilians in China
4. Alligators as Dragons
5. A Dragon's Life: Ecology and Behavior of the Chinese Alligator
6. The Dragon's Demise: Why the Chinese Alligator Disappeared
7. Habitat and Population Status
8. The Future of the Alligator in China
Literature Cited
Index