The number of wild Yangtze alligators is expected to reach 300 from the current 120 in the next five to 10 years, an expert told China Daily.

The endangered species are living and breeding in a wider area than in 2005, said Wang Chaolin, deputy director of the Chinese Alligators Protection Nature Reserve in Anhui province. He attributed the improvement to a series of protection measures such as wild breeding, protection of baby alligators and the releasing of captive-bred alligators to the wild.