The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced it successfully raided a python nursery, capturing two massive females, 23 eggs and dozens of hatchlings.
Matthew Rubenstein, an officer for the commission, and python contractor Alex McDuffie found two nesting areas in Big Cypress National Preserve, located in South Florida.
The pair first snagged a 10-foot female Burmese python while it sat on 23 unhatched eggs and 18 new hatchlings slithering nearby.
McDuffie reported to Rubenstein that upon returning to the same site the following evening, he removed a second breeding female that measured 17 feet, six inches long.
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Matthew Rubenstein (pictured), an officer for the commission, and python contractor Alex McDuffie found two nesting areas in Big Cypress National Preserve
‘The pythons and unhatched eggs were removed from the sensitive habitat, helping to prevent future negative impacts to our native wildlife,’ FWC shared in a Facebook post about the events, which occurred Monday and Tuesday – the announcement was made Thursday.
The team was led to the python nursery on July 11 when McDuffie was ‘in the process of catching and bagging a Burmese python hatchling from the area,’ FWC shared in a statement.
‘The python appeared to be freshly hatched, so they began searching the immediate area for more hatchlings.’
Pythons are native to Southeast Asia, but have been wreaking havoc in the Florida since the 1970s.
The pair first snagged a 10-foot female Burmese Python while it sat on 23 unhatched eggs and 18 new hatchlings slithering in the area. Left is Rubenstein and right is python contractor Alex McDuffie
McDuffie reported to Rubenstein that upon returning to the same site the following evening, he removed a second breeding female that measured 17 feet, six inches long (pictured)
The snakes came to Florida as pets, but owners discarded them into the wild where they began to multiply and grow to massive lengths.
The python population has seen a boom in recent years, sparking Governor Ron DeSantis to announce that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge is now open.
FWC Executive Director Eric Sutton said in a statement: ‘The Florida Python Challenge provides an opportunity for people to actively participate in Everglades conservation by removing the Burmese python, an invasive species that is actively damaging our native wildlife populations.
Although Burmese pythons are all over the Everglades, they are hard to capture due to them living deep within the swamps.
However, snake hunters have become creative to find these snakes – they are using males to hunt down females.
Douglas Main, senior writer and editor at National Geographic, spoke with DailyMail.com last month about how this technique was used to capture the largest python ever recorded in Florida—or anywhere outside its native range.
Researchers at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida captured this massive female python that turned out to weigh 215 pounds and measure 17.7 feet long.
The snakes came to Florida as pets, but owners discarded them into the wild where they began to multiply and grow to massive lengths. Pictured are some of the unhatched eggs found in the python nursery
The python population has seen a boom in recent years, sparking Governor Ron DeSantis to announce that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge is now open. Pictured are more eggs confiscated this week
‘It is incredible because of the scale involved. It is almost heavier than most people,’ Main told DailyMail.com.
‘It is also cool because it shows the success of this technique using scout snakes, which are male pythons with GPS transmitters.
‘The males are released and the snakes lead them to large reproductive females.’
The giant snake was caught in December, euthanized and put on ice in a freezer until April. National Geographic’s Rebecca Dzombak traveled to a lab in Naples to watch the researchers perform a necropsy.
It took about 48 hours for the carcass to thaw and Dzombak said in her feature that ‘the smell does not improve with time.’
The researchers began by slicing along the center of the python’s belly and then they pealed open its ribs to access the underneath fat layer, which allowed them to uncover a few other interesting things.
Hidden in the body were 122 proto-eggs – the most ever found inside a python.
However, the eggs had not been fertilized yet.
Researchers at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida captured this massive female python that turned out to weigh 215 pounds and measure 17.7 feet long. The snake was nabbed in December
Hidden in the body were 122 proto-eggs – the most ever found inside a python. However, the eggs had not been fertilized yet
The python had hoof cores and bits of fur in her digestive tract, which researchers say indicates her last meal was an adult white-tailed deer.
‘White tailed-deer is the main prey for endangered Florida panthers,’ Main said.
‘So this is concerning.’
Main told DailyMail.com that he is working on a story about the endangered panthers, noting that there are just about 200 in all of Florida.
Researchers also took several measurements of the snake, noting its head measured nearly six inches from the tip of her snout to the back of her skull. The widest part of her body measured 25 inches.
However, the eggs had not been fertilized yet.
The python had hoof cores and bits of fur in her digestive tract, which researchers say indicates her last meal was an adult white-tailed deer.
‘White tailed-deer is the main prey for endangered Florida panthers,’ Main said.
‘So this is concerning.’
Main told DailyMail.com that he is working on a story about the endangered panthers, noting that there are just about 200 in all of Florida.
Researchers also took several measurements of the snake, noting its head measured nearly six inches from the tip of her snout to the back of her skull. The widest part of her body measured 25 inches.
