<div><p>You might not think of <a href="https://www.shared.com/this-years-best-wildlife-photos-capture-the-beauty-of-nature/" target="_blank">wildlife photography</a> as a very stressful job, but you're guaranteed to rethink things when you see these photos snapped by British photographer Lee Dalton.</p><p>While on a trip to the Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, Florida, Dalton came face to face with more than 200 alligators. According to Dalton, these huge reptiles normally hang around in groups of 3 or 4 at most, so he was astounded to find so many together. </p><p>While he explains that "humans are too large to be considered suitable prey for your average alligator," he knows there have been fatal gator attacks in Florida on "rare occasions," so he kept his distance. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-3.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-3_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-3_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-3_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Lee Dalton</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p></p><p>These impressive creatures snack on fish and other small animals, and as you can tell from these photos they love to lay around on the shore soaking up the sun.</p><p>Of course,<a href="https://www.shared.com/tourists-captured-the-scary-moment-something-latched-onto-an-elephants-trunk-from-underwater/" target="_blank"> they sometimes take on even bigger prey</a>, and they're definitely not intimidated by most humans.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-2.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-2_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-2_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-2_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Lee Dalton</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>Unfortunately, this may be the last time anyone spots a group of gators this big. The huge lizards were hunted almost to extinction in the 1960s, and to this day they're still listed as a protected species. </p><p>"It was intimidating but incredible," Dalton told <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3016475/hundreds-of-alligators-gather-at-florida-watering-hole-for-sunbathing-session">the Sun</a> about his lucky find. "I felt privileged." </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-4.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-4_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-4_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-4_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Lee Dalton</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-5.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-5_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-5_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Gator-5_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Lee Dalton</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>We say he was really lucky to leave the park in one piece! It takes a lot of courage to get close to one alligator, let alone a couple hundred! But it's a good thing he did, because now everyone can enjoy these amazing photos. </p><p></p></div>