A total of 120 Chinese alligators have been released into the wild in east China's Anhui Province, the provincial forestry authorities said Wednesday.

Bred in captivity, these reptiles -- 30 males and 90 females -- were placed and set free at 46 release points in the Anhui Yangtze Alligator Reserve.

Staff at the reserve put satellite trackers on 18 alligators for monitoring and further research of their activities in the wild.

Anhui Yangtze Alligator Reserve is the only artificial breeding base for Chinese alligators worldwide and has been releasing batches of the reptiles in their natural habitat since 2003, with 228 released so far.

Monitoring shows that all of the alligators have adapted well and survived in the wild, and some even started to reproduce.

By the end of 2018, the females have laid 224 eggs in 14 clutches, with 112 naturally hatched baby alligators.

China listed the Chinese alligator as a first-class protected animal in 1972. The number of wild Chinese alligators is around 200.

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