A team of US researchers captured the largest Burmese python ever discovered in the state of Florida on Thursday. The female serpent is almost 18 feet long. It weighed about 98 kg, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Moreover, this species is considered to be an invasive one in Florida, researchers said.
Researchers had to wrestle with the ginormous snake for 20 minutes to capture it. During the examination, the snake was found to have 122 eggs in its abdomen. With this, the python snake broke another record for the most eggs a female python can produce in a breeding cycle. Moreover, researchers also found “hoof cores” inside the snake’s stomach indicating that its last meal was a white-tailed deer.
Details about the python
The wildlife biologists revealed that they used a unique research program; that uses radio transmitters implanted in male snakes to lead them to breeding grounds where “large, reproductive females” can be removed to hinder their eggs from hatching in the wild. Speaking about this process, Ian Bartoszek, wildlife biologist, and environmental science project manager said, “How do you find the needle in the haystack? You could use a magnet; in a similar way our male scout snakes are attracted to the biggest females around.”
Adding to it, “The removal of female pythons plays a critical role. Especially in disrupting the breeding cycle of these apex predators; that is wreaking havoc on the Everglades ecosystem and taking food sources from other native species.” “This is the wildlife issue of our time for southern Florida.”
