The original post: /r/askscience by /u/Severinofaztudo on 2024-11-11 04:07:33.

So alligators are large to medium large predators as I understand the flux of energy in any ecosystems ensures the numbers of predators will always be smaller than the number of preys. The only exception I know about that is the the fito Zoo Plankton.

But in the small territory of Florida there are more than 1 million of them. How do they get so much energy to to sustain a large quantity of predators. The number of lions in the whole world is less than 50thousand, saltwater water crocodile(much bigger and a reptile) are on the 200 thousand worldwide.

Are these numbers thanks to their very low metabolism or something? Does the everglades just produces a shitamount of food fo them to feed on?