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TABLE 2. Dimensions and water depths of the crocodilian breeding complex.Breeding areas and pools West pool SW pool NW pool Rear RearArea 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5Pool depth (cm) 49 63.5 43.2 63.5 71.1Total area (approx m 2 ) 45 11.8 14.6 8.9 4.9Pool (approx sq m 2 ) 18.2 5.7 7.5 5.1 4.9Basking area (approx sq m 2 ) 30 5.6 4 na naSoil nesting areas (approx. sq m 2 ) shared shared 2.67, 4.9 2.67,(2, 4, 5) (4) shared (1, 5) shared (3)and three females each from St. Augustine and Disney AnimalKingdom, were sent to China in May 2006. The Chinese Alligatorbreeding centers in China are well funded and emphasize theirroles as both tourist attractions and to ensure the survival of thespecies, at least in captivity (Thorbjarnarson, pers. comm.). Captiveindividuals now number in the thousands. Field surveys byWatanabe (1982) found, and Thorbjarnarson et al. (2002) confirmed,that the wild population of Chinese Alligators continuesto face the prospect of imminent extinction.Behler officially became the AZA Chinese Alligator studbookkeeper in May 1982; this was the first studbook for a reptile breedingprogram. He was succeeded by Joe Abene, reptile keeper atthe Bronx Zoo. The AZA Crocodilian Advisory Group was establishedin 1986, and the Chinese Alligator program, formally createdby Behler in 1980, continues to stand as a model for AZAreptile and amphibian management programs.Siamese Crocodiles, Crocodylus siamensisConsidered virtually extinct in the wild, this species had notbeen seen in the wild for decades, although older captive animalswere the bases of extensive captive breeding for hides and meat inThailand. The first crocodilians to be seized in 1971 under thenew protections (listed as endangered under CITES, 1975; ESA,1976) were a group of hatchling Siamese Crocodiles without documentation,hidden in an air cargo box at John F. Kennedy InternationalAirport in New York. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service SpecialAgents Warren Diffendal and Ed Baker were checking importcargo when they casually tapped on a box labeled machinery andthe box began to croak. These 14 youngsters became the first groupcolony of managed endangered species at the Bronx Zoo, producingoffspring almost annually from 1983, at age 12, (Brazaitis andWatanabe 1983) until 1987. They would eventually populate zoosthroughout the United States.Cuban Crocodiles, Crocodylus rhombifer“Fidel” and “Maria” were perhaps two of the most famous crocodiliansin US zoos. Fidel (Fig. 16) came to the Bronx Zoo in 1958from the Tarpon Springs Zoo, Florida, as a juvenile and quicklymade his mark by attempting to consume the hand of Brazaitisduring a public feeding. The two crocodiles were tightly bondedand remained intolerant of all other crocodiles throughout theirlives. Both animals were of immense genetic important to the AZACuban Crocodile endangered species propagation program in thatthey represented pure Cuban Crocodiles from times prior to thecommercial hybridization of Cuban and American crocodiles inCuban crocodile farms. “Fidel” and “Maria” produced numerousoffspring: one in 1983, six in 1984, and 21 in 1985.Indian Mugger Crocodile, Crocodylus palustrisCrocodylus palustris was well represented in the collection between1969 and 1994, with the arrival of a male and a female in1969. An additional male and two females were acquired from theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1971. All of the first eggs producedby these animals were infertile and laid in the water, probablyas a result of poor diets of saltwater fish during their prereproductiveages, and not having available a nest site with a temperatureelevated above the pool water temperature. Typically, poolwater temperatures averaged 29°C, while ambient air temperaturesmight vary from 21 to 26°C during the months from Februaryto April. Prior to the introduction of a heated nesting site inbreeding enclosures in 1981, it was not unusual for animals toselect for the warmer water as a “nest site” in which to lay theireggs. The pattern of egg production suggests that the reproductivecycle of these animals may well be genetically programmed. InIndia, C. palustris typically lays eggs from February to April inthe wild, and averages 28 (10–48 range) eggs per clutch (Lang1986; Whitaker and Whitaker 1977). Despite having been rearedin captivity and subjected to an alien annual photoperiod, lack ofnatural sunlight, and varying temperatures from the first yearthroughout maturity, this group of C. palustris exhibited a repro-Fig. 12. Hatching Chinese Alligator, Bronx Zoo, 1984. Photo by PeterBrazaitis.144 Herpetological Review 39(2), 2008