Record-breaking python discovered in Florida Everglades

!8 feet 215 pounds that's a huge "snek" it would be a problem for an unsuspecting human, they are saying the Everglades now have tens of thousands of pythons. They have taken over from the alligators as top predators and are decimating the white tail deer population.



www.accuweather.com...

The astonishing discovery was made when biologists hear a rustle in nearby brush. Yet, perhaps most intriguing was what this creature, the size of a shipping container, last ate before meeting its own demise. A whole whitetail deer

According to the conservancy, this Burmese python broke the invasive species record for the largest ever caught in Florida. The nearly 18-foot python weighed in at a whopping 215 pounds, about the size of a shipping container and shattering the 2016 record of 140 pounds. And that's not the only record for Sunshine State snakes: This female python was also pregnant and was carrying 122 eggs.

Led by environmental science project manager Ian Bartoszek, the team that captured the python included biologist Ian Easterling and intern Kyle Findley. To locate female snakes, the group uses male snakes, called "scout snakes," which are typically smaller than the females and easier to find. The team can locate the female snakes by tracking the scout snakes as they look for a mate.

And this python isn't the first to prey on deer. In fact, the white-tailed deer population has been dwindling since pythons took over the Everglades. As a result of the python's overconsumption of white-tailed deer, the Florida panther population, which also fed on the white-tailed deer, has decreased and is now considered endangered, The New York Times reported.

According to the USGS, several other mammal declines in the Everglades have been linked to the Burmese python. In 2015, a study confirmed that the Burmese python is now the top predator in the Everglades, taking the spot from Florida's native alligator.

122 eggs too!

I think the Governor there should up the money from 50 bucks to at least 750 bucks per snake. And keep the kill zone all year long.

a reply to: putnam6

Holy hell that thing is huge!

a reply to: putnam6

That is a large snake.

I still wonder why these stories always have rediculas claims. That is nowhere near the size of shipping container. Even if you compared it to a 10 foot long shipping container, the snake would have to be the size of a small elephant.

originally posted by: beyondknowledge
a reply to: putnam6

That is a large snake.

I still wonder why these stories always have rediculas claims. That is nowhere near the size of shipping container. Even if you compared it to a 10 foot long shipping container, the snake would have to be the size of a small elephant.

Obviously, they were referring to the length but yes, it's poor journalism

originally posted by: beyondknowledge
a reply to: putnam6

That is a large snake.

I still wonder why these stories always have rediculas claims. That is nowhere near the size of shipping container. Even if you compared it to a 10 foot long shipping container, the snake would have to be the size of a small elephant.

1) The word is ridiculous , not rediculas . That word does not exist . That is Riddikulus
2) There are different size shipping containers .
3) Snakes and elephants have different mass and thus different areas required .

originally posted by: Gothmog

originally posted by: beyondknowledge
a reply to: putnam6

That is a large snake.

I still wonder why these stories always have rediculas claims. That is nowhere near the size of shipping container. Even if you compared it to a 10 foot long shipping container, the snake would have to be the size of a small elephant.

1) The word is ridiculous , not rediculas . That word does not exist . That is Riddikulus
2) There are different size shipping containers .
3) Snakes and elephants have different mass and thus different areas required .

I blame spellchecker for 1. Fourty foot shipping containers seem to be the most common, that's 2.

For 3, all animal life has the same mass density give or take a very small percentage. That density is the same as that of water. Both snakes and elephants are animals, therefore any cubic volume of the two would be roughly equil in mass.

a reply to: putnam6

This is a situation where "nope rope" is just inadequate.

originally posted by: Gothmog

originally posted by: beyondknowledge
a reply to: putnam6

That is a large snake.

I still wonder why these stories always have rediculas claims. That is nowhere near the size of shipping container. Even if you compared it to a 10 foot long shipping container, the snake would have to be the size of a small elephant.

1) The word is ridiculous , not rediculas . That word does not exist . That is Riddikulus
2) There are different size shipping containers .
3) Snakes and elephants have different mass and thus different areas required .

I like ridonkulous myself.

I have noticed Swamp People are now catching snakes

a reply to: Gothmog

something went wrong it was ment as a reply for the OP.

a reply to: putnam6

the only answer to this kind of problem is a complete ban on exotic and invasive spices, for anyone except zoo's and research. if a animal is not found in this country naturally in the wild then it shouldn't be allowed in. to many people get these type of animals as pets and get overwhelmed take them out to the boonies and set them free.

it could also be a problem in some area's if a animals escapes from a zoo or research facilities, but at least those have some sort of protocols for the handling and confinement of them.

sad part is the animals usually wind up dead, for just trying to live their life.

The 3 guys that caught it manually wrestled with it for 20 minutes before finally subduing it - I wonder if they have that on film! I feel sorry for these creatures though. It's not their fault they've been released by idiots there to reproduce & flourish. I always do catch & release with snakes here, even the poisonous ones. They all deserve to live, just not in certain areas!

originally posted by: BernnieJGato
a reply to: putnam6

the only answer to this kind of problem is a complete ban on exotic and invasive spices, for anyone except zoo's and research. if a animal is not found in this country naturally in the wild then it shouldn't be allowed in. to many people get these type of animals as pets and get overwhelmed take them out to the boonies and set them free.

it could also be a problem in some area's if a animals escapes from a zoo or research facilities, but at least those have some sort of protocols for the handling and confinement of them.

sad part is the animals usually wind up dead, for just trying to live their life.

In this case, the first ones got out of a zoo during a hurricane. The zoo was wiped out. No protocol could cover that.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

yea i was thinking what happened back during Andrew when i wrote the part about zoo's and research facilities. you can't really blame acts of God on them. most reputable organizations go out of their way to prevent such things but it happens.
then there's the fly by night people that don't even have a clue


but my understanding is that is that most of the problem comes from people that exotic and invasive spices for pets and don't realize what all is involed in taking care of them and turn them loose in the wild thinking their helping them instead of chance of them being killed, which is about the same as taking a dog or cat out to some place and dropping them off.

here is a article that says the FWC speculate that part of the problem came from a exotic wholesaler warehouse and petstores that was destroyed during Andrew

from 2012,

Though theories differ, Segelson and others speculate that the snakes escaped during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 when high winds destroyed a wholesaler's building.
"It's difficult to pinpoint exactly where all of the snakes come from," Segelson said. "But it is believed that some of the snakes potentially escaped from pet stores or breeders."

Fla. hunt to target exotic, invasive pythons

originally posted by: musicismagic
122 eggs too!

I think the Governor there should up the money from 50 bucks to at least 750 bucks per snake. And keep the kill zone all year long.

me too!

Wait till they start eating humans, the attitude will change then. As for live and let live! What if someone broke into your house and killed your family, would you say then live and let live.

It's as simple as this Florida is the home of the White Tailed deer yet this alien species is killing them in their home. When these snakes have decimated the deer they will concentrate on another prey (hopefully it wont be your child) but move on they will. The native animals have the right to live as well, without any alien predators invading. There should be an all out campaign to wipe out this alien species.

originally posted by: musicismagic
I think the Governor there should up the money from 50 bucks to at least 750 bucks per snake.

They tried that. Many if not most of the snakes turned in were exotic pets that people no longer wanted.

originally posted by: musicismagic
122 eggs too!

I think the Governor there should up the money from 50 bucks to at least 750 bucks per snake. And keep the kill zone all year long.

Hell, I'd move down there and start hunting them twelve hours a day if that was the case.

originally posted by: Gothmog

originally posted by: beyondknowledge
a reply to: putnam6

That is a large snake.

I still wonder why these stories always have rediculas claims. That is nowhere near the size of shipping container. Even if you compared it to a 10 foot long shipping container, the snake would have to be the size of a small elephant.

1) The word is ridiculous , not rediculas . That word does not exist . That is Riddikulus
2) There are different size shipping containers .
3) Snakes and elephants have different mass and thus different areas required .

Maybe they were saying Reticulas (python)

a reply to: putnam6

Might be time to blow up the whole everglades.