The biggest snake ever found in Florida. The 17.7 foot long python was captured in Everglades National Park and was carrying 87 eggs.
The python was euthanized and taken to the Florida Museum of Natural History and University of Florida researchers examined the euthanized Burmese python on Monday. The eggs give them important clues about the invasive species and its reproductive capabilities. The snake which weighed in at 164.5 pounds is one of the largest ever found in the park.
Kenneth Krysko said to CNN, "This thing is monstrous - it's about a foot wide. It means there's nothing stopping them and the native wildlife are in trouble."
Pythons are an problem in the area as they are a non-native species and one of the deadliest predators in the southern part of the state. Their population is estimated from thousands to hundres of thousands and researches speak of the importance of stopping the spread of them.
Skip Snow said to CNN, "I think one of the important facts about this animal is its reproductive capability. There are not many records of how many eggs a large female snake carries in the wild. This shows they're a really reproductive animal, which aids in their invasiveness."
Cheryl Millett said to National Geographic that she believes the 87 eggs are more evidences that, they are pretty much established-they're breeding in the Everglades."
Millett is part of the Nature Conservancy partnership called Python Patrol which focuses stopping the spread of pythons to sensitive areas like the Florida keys, residential neighborhoods and bird breeding areas. "I don't think we can necessarily get rid of every last one. We just want to keep them from moving elsewhere," Millett said to National Geographic.
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