As spring returns to Anhui province, over 10,000 Yangtze alligators woke up from their winter hibernation. They moved to outdoor ponds in the Xuancheng National Yangtze Alligator Nature Reserve.

Park rangers face the difficult task of moving them. They must remain cautious since adult Yangtzse alligators, averaging 1.5 meters long and weighing 40-50kg, can be ferocious.

They could bite off people's fingers with their 20-odd sharp teeth. Over 5,000 alligators were transferred from hothouses to outdoor ponds.

Many alligators coming out of hibernation struggle to adapt to their surrounding environment. Some sink when entering ponds. Some stay afloat without moving, while others swim slowly.

Park staffers say the alligators usually move back to ponds after March 20, since the climate is much warmer without the threat of frosts and temperatures dropping sharply.

According to park officials, the lowest temperature could drop to six degrees centigrade with the water warmer than the air.

"The temperature averages between 8 and 12 centigrade degrees".

When outdoor temperatures rise, over 4,000 alligators come out of heated rooms and remain in outdoor ponds until late November for tourists to see them.

Edited by Fu Bo and Tom McGregor