Two-For-One Special As FWC Nets Two Massive Pythons In One Day
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Python Action Team got a two-for-one earlier this week.
On the same day the team removed its second largest Burmese Python in the program's history, a second giant snake was also found.
The first snake was 17-feet, 9-inches long and measured 83 pounds.
The second snake was exactly the same length; however, it was a bit wider. It weighed 121 pounds, about 40 pounds heavier than the first one.
Both invasive snakes were discovered in Big Cypress National Preserve.
According to FWC, the longest python ever caught in Florida was an 18-foot-8-inch, 128-pound female.
Most Burmese pythons in Florida are between 6 to 10 feet long, but some grow much larger.
Burmese pythons are an invasive species in and around the Everglades. Scientists say they have eliminated 99-percent of the native mammals in the Everglades, decimating food sources for native predators such as panthers and alligators.
The state pays select hunters to catch and kill the invasive snakes on state lands and even hosts a popular python hunt for the public every three years in an attempt to control the tens of thousands of pythons that are estimated to be slithering through the Everglades.
The FWC Python Action Team has removed 147 invasive snakes so far this month.
The commission is seeking applications on its website.
