why are American crocodiles so rare in numbers in Florida compared with the American alligator?

Question

there is apparently only 2,000 American crocs in Florida and an estimated one million alligators , what is the reason for this staggering difference, why do the alligators thrive so much more than the crocs?

Answer 1

Actually, in Florida, alligators are the more aggressive species, (compare 25 fatalities in 50 years by alligators to one fatality back in the 1920's by an american croc.).

Crocs don't do well when they're subjected to freezing temps., and even though it might not happen every year throughout the state, we do get down to freezing from time to time, probably just often enough to keep crocs from being too comfortable anywhere other than the extreme southern end of the state.

Also, the American croc tends to prefer salt-marsh and mangrove habitat... exactly what we like to backfill and put waterfront condominiums on top of. Going by fossil evidence and such as well, there never have been as many crocs in Florida as alligators... just the way it is.

Gators are just a bit more cold tolerant.

Edited to add....

Actually, the American alligator is nonexistant outside of the U.S., so of course crocs outnumber them in the rest of their range. And from experience, alligators are -not- strictly freshwater animals, I've seen them on the beach, and I've got a friend who saw one five miles out from Port Canaveral, headed further out. Alligators have to retreat -back- to fresh water on a regular basis to rinse the salt from their system, but salt water doesn't stop them from swimming in it.

Answer 2

In that area the crocodile is fewer in number than the alligator due to the fact that south Florida is the northern-most part of its range. The further south you go, Mexico, Cuba, Central and South America, the crocodile out numbers the alligator. This is mainly due to the low temperature tolerance that the American Alligator has and the crocodile does not. Also, crocodiles are more apt to live in brackish waters and estuaries that have a high saltwater content, Alligators are strictly fresh-water so their range extends much farther inland. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The American crocodile is a primarily coastal crocodilian occurring in parts of Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and at the northern end of its range in southern Florida. The tip of Florida is the overlap with gators, which are prevalent from SE USA to the Gulf coast of Texas.

Answer 4

I would say it is due to human disturbance, primarily altered hydrology and development. The American alligator that lives in the Everglades has the unique ability to create its own habitat (i.e. alligator holes) in order to concentrate prey during the dry season as water levels recede. Therefore, the geographic range where they are able to reside is virtually unlimited, including areas of human residence. The American crocodile, however is limited to brackish (salty) environments that are not only deeper than they were historically, but also less abundant due to coastal development. The natural history of this animal compared with that of the alligator allows for less ability to create a venue for consolidating resources and thus is more limited by food availability. The prey base in Florida Bay is simply not as abundant as it was historically and as a result crocodile population numbers have declined. In addition, their geographic range has been shrinking giving the crocodiles less ability to cope with inter-annual climate variability.

Answer 5

Just be thankful, because crocodiles are far more aggressive than alligators.

To answer your question, I really don't know why, but the American Crocodile has always had a very limited range. I don't think their range has ever extended as far North as St. Augustine.

The reason there are so many gators is that it was a protected species for over 20 years.