Big alligators will eat smaller pythons and bigger pythons will eat smaller alligators. When a hungry big python comes across an alligator, he will eat it. The python will attack the alligator, constrict it and swallow it whole just like it would swallow a bird or a rabbit. Pythons kill their prey by constrictions. The python coils around the prey's chest cavity. As the prey exhales, the python squeezes tighter and tighter. This stops the heart from beating and it stops the air from flowing into the lungs. The prey suffocates to death. Now, the only problem with this method against alligators is that alligators can lower their heart rate to one or two beats a minute. Yes, there are occasions when the python would think that the alligator is dead and would begin swallowing it. The alligator could recover in a few minutes and start a fight, while he is inside python! It's like something out of a cartoon. If the alligator could recover in a few minutes the alligator can cause life threatening damage to the python's organs. At that moment the python's life is at risk. Larger Alligators however with their powerful jaws have a distinct advantage over the pythons. The alligators holds on to the python with power exceeding 2000 pounds per square inch. It is impossible for the python to escape the alligators hold. After an exhausting battle that can last for hours things could go unexpected. On rare occasions the python is able to intimidate the alligator into a retreat.
Burmese Pythons are an invasive species from South East Asia, that have found a home in Florida's Everglades. Now they have to compete with american alligators as top predators. It is the first time in history that these two top predators battle for the same resources
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| american alligator |
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| Burmese python |
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