A large python, perhaps the second largest ever recovered from Everglades National Park, was captured by a python researcher who often works within the park.
The python caught in July was taken on the Shark Valley tram road and, once extended, was 18 feet and 3 inches long. This is only four inches off the record-setting 18 foot 7 inch snake that was discovered in 2013. Whether this is a Florida record is unknown, because only snakes captured inside the park are tracked officially.
The Burmese pythons are an invasive species causing harm to the habitat of the everglades. As these reptiles have no natural predators in the area, they are thriving at the expense of the small mammals that used to be found in abundance. Informing the public of the dangers Burmese pythons and other nonnative species of animals and plants pose to the environment is best achieved with the assistance of brochure printers in and around Miami.
The pythons became established in the state decades ago, due to the international pet trade and the subsequent release of pet pythons, whose owners were no longer willing or able to care for them, into the wild. According to information supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey agency, full-grown members of the species are able to ingest alligators and deer.
The snake, according to park officials, was removed from the park and humanely euthanized.
