Snake hunters this week caught the longest Burmese python ever documented in Florida that measured an eye-popping 19 feet, authorities said.
The super-sized slitherer was discovered Monday in Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles west of Miami, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. The record-breaking female python weighed 125 pounds and bested the previous longest Burmese python, which measured 18 feet and 9 inches, that was also found in Florida, the conservancy said in a statement Wednesday.
The conservancy is an environmental nonprofit based in Naples.
Jake Waleri, 22, found the snake and said he knew it had to be measured and weighed for the sake of science.
“We brought the snake to the Conservancy to be officially measured and documented. We wanted to donate this find to science,” he said in the conservancy’s statement.
The environment group described Burmese pythons as an “invasive apex predator” that should be removed from Southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
The heaviest Burmese python found in Florida was documented in 2022 and weighed 215 pounds, the conservancy said.
Source : nbcnews