Things are getting bad in the beautiful Everglades of Florida. They’re being over run by giant snakes that are non-native to the area… and they’re getting bigger.
Huffington Post writes:
There are some Florida records no one wants to see broken, but apparently the exotic snakes invading the Everglades weren’t informed.
Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey captured a state record-breaking Burmese python that was not only a whopping 17 feet and 7 inches long, but carrying an also-record-breaking 87 eggs.
The massive gal weighed 164 pounds, according to staff at the University of Florida, who said the previous records for length and fertility were a measly 16.8 feet and 85 eggs.
“She was a beast!” USGS research ecologist Dr. Kristen Hart, whose team caught the snake, told HuffPost. “She was really impressive.”
The massive python was nearly a foot wide, said the Florida Museum of Natural History’s herpetology collection manager Dr. Kenneth Krysko (hear him describe her in the video in the slideshow below). The python was sent to the Gainesville museum so UF staff could perform a necropsy for research before mounting the body, which will eventually be returned to Everglades National Park. And then, presumably, there’s a party to be had.
“When you find something outside the known or expected range,” said FMNH’s Ichthyology collection manager Rob Robins, “it’s exciting.”
Hart said the huge python was initially spotted in March when a “judas snake” — a male python outfitted with a transmitter for tracking during mating season — led USGS biologists Thomas Selby and Brian Smith straight to her. Getting the snake from the brush to the office was no small feat, though the very fit Selby and Smith are roughly 6′ 5″ and 5′ 10″, respectively.
“She was tired from pulling against them, they were tired from wrestling her,” Hart said. “They were just exhausted but also excited: ‘You’re not gonna believe how big this snake is!'”
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