Burmese Python Almost 200 Pounds Captured In Florida
A huge Burmese python was found and captured by five local hunters at the Big Cypress National Reserve in Florida on Friday via a report posted by People. The giant snake reportedly weighed nearly 200 pounds, coming in at an official weight of 198 pounds.
It Took 5 Men To Wrestle Down The Massive Python
Conservationist Mike Elfenbein and his teenage son, Cole were the two who initially discovered the gigantic Burmese python. The two python hunters were soon joined by three other hunters after being spotted struggling with the monster snake.
Trey Barber, Carter Gablock, and Holden Hunter joined in the fight to subdue the large snake. Wrangling such an impressive Burmese python is no easy job, as the body of the large animal is made mostly of muscle.
After five men joined together to capture the python, it still took them more than 45 minutes to successfully wrestle the beast into submission. Mike Elfenbein told news reporters at the scene that the python was “more than a snake.” Elfenbein shared the image, which you can see above, on Facebook.
Why Snake Hunters Are Tracking Pythons
Though it may seem quite rude to animal lovers that these men took it upon themselves to remove such an excellent creature from its home, there is a proper reason behind the hunting of the Burmese pythons in that area.
Ian Bartoszek, a research manager at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida (where the Burmese python was eventually taken) stated that the state’s population of pythons has had a damaging effect on the local food chain of the Everglades. Enough so, that Bartoszek referred to the Burmese python as the “big game hunters” of Florida.
The Effect On The Deer Population
There have been some cases where the remains of a whole deer were found inside the belly of a captured python. Though knocking down the deer population in the area may not be a big deal, a snake as big as the one found by Elfenbein and his son feeds off of an array of local wildlife and it had to eat a lot to grow that large.
Just as deer season was created for hunters to keep the local deer population under control, it seems there’s now a need to knock off some of the super-sized snakes in the Everglades.
Professional Snakehunters Shocked
Elfenbein reportedly notified Amy Siewe (a professional python hunter) of his catch immediately. Siewe has captured more than 530 pythons in the past four years. Upon seeing Elfenbein’s catch, she said that the large Burmese python, Siewe stated it was “the fattest python (she) had ever seen.”
Unfortunately, after being captured, the large Burmese python was humanely put down by Siewe. It was then taken to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida for further measurements and weighing.
The Python Is The 2nd Largest Found In Florida
Bartoszek told the news that Elfenbein’s catch was definitely one of the heaviest Burmese pythons ever captured in Florida. Though it only came in at 17 feet 2 inches long (the longest on record is around 19 feet long), the snake was the second heaviest ever found in the state.
So, if you didn’t already know that there are crazy men and women out in Florida running around trying to catch gigantic Burmese python snakes, you know now.
