18 Ft Python @ 215 pounds Florida

[727Sky]

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-n...es/1207619

[/url]
Record-breaking python discovered in Florida Everglades
The astonishing discovery was made when biologists hear a rustle in nearby brush. Yet, perhaps most intriguing was what this creature, the size of a shipping container, last ate before meeting its own demise.
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jun. 25, 2022 5:00 PM ICT | Updated Jun. 25, 2022 10:21 AM ICT

The python is 18 feet in length and weighs nearly 215 pounds.
Deep in the Florida Everglades, a team from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida made a shocking discovery when they came upon a sight they will likely never forget. The biggest Burmese python the team of three had ever laid their eyes on was just mere feet from them.
Although the snake was captured in December, scientists only announced the discovery this past Tuesday after [url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/largest-burmese-python-ever-found-in-florida??rid=&cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Planet_Possible_20220621]National Geographic recently published an exclusive article on the python.
According to the conservancy, this Burmese python broke the invasive species record for the largest ever caught in Florida. The nearly 18-foot python weighed in at a whopping 215 pounds, about the size of a shipping container and shattering the 2016 record of 140 pounds. And that's not the only record for Sunshine State snakes: This female python was also pregnant and was carrying 122 eggs.
Led by environmental science project manager Ian Bartoszek, the team that captured the python included biologist Ian Easterling and intern Kyle Findley. To locate female snakes, the group uses male snakes, called "scout snakes," which are typically smaller than the females and easier to find. The team can locate the female snakes by tracking the scout snakes as they look for a mate.
When trying to locate one of the scout snakes, named Dion, in December, the team heard a rustle in a nearby brush. Trying to locate the noise, the crew spotted the python - significantly larger than Dion - and without skipping a beat, all three jumped on the extremely large reptile to restrain it.
After wrestling with the snake for roughly 20 minutes, the team was able to carry it back to the truck, Easterling said in a press conference on Wednesday.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida Invasive Species Lab announced record-breaking developments with the documentation of the largest python found to date in Florida during a press conference on June 22, 2022. The female python weighed a record-breaking 215 pounds and measured nearly 18 feet in length. (The Conservancy of Southwest Florida)
"She put up a pretty good fight," Easterling said, adding that the snake balled up her tail and took a swing at the team. Findley, the intern, dogged a swipe from the python, but Easterling wasn't as lucky and got slapped in the face with her tail.
In 2014, Bartoszek and his team were shocked when they found the first 100-pound python, which at the time was considered to be on the larger end of the scale. Two years later, the team discovered the 140-pound Burmese python, which held the record for the largest of its species in the state -- until recently.
"We don't really consider pythons big until they top 100 pounds, so now I need a new description for a 200-pound python," Bartoszek said. "It's just next level for us."
The conservancy has been following and capturing pythons to protect the native species of the Everglades for nearly a decade. Being able to capture and study these unique creatures allows Bartoszek and his team to better understand how many more of these pythons might be in the wild and what their diet consists of.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), researchers estimate that tens of thousands of pythons thrive in Florida.
When asked about how old the snake was, Bartoszek explained that Burmese pythons don't necessarily grow by age but rather by consumption. Studying the massive python resembles a crime scene, Bartoszek said, as the researchers look through the contents of the python's stomach to determine the snake's diet.
"The last meal this animal had was a white-tailed deer," Bartoszek said, noting that most pythons are big-game hunters.

A Burmese python (Everglades National Park Service/R. Cammauf)
And this python isn't the first to prey on deer. In fact, the white-tailed deer population has been dwindling since pythons took over the Everglades. As a result of the python's overconsumption of white-tailed deer, the Florida panther population, which also fed on the white-tailed deer, has decreased and is now considered endangered, The New York Times reported.
According to the USGS, several other mammal declines in the Everglades have been linked to the Burmese python. In 2015, a study confirmed that the Burmese python is now the top predator in the Everglades, taking the spot from Florida's native alligator.
"It's just unbelievable what they will ravage when they're there," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference June 17. "These snakes are destroying the natural food chain, and you can't have a healthy environment without a healthy food chain."
After being introduced to the Everglades in the 1980s as a result of the exotic pet trade, Burmese pythons have thrived in the environment, the Times reported. However, owners did not know what to do with the pythons once they became too big to manage, and many released them into the wild.
The USGS describes the Burmese python as "one of the most concerning invasive species in the Everglades National Park."
The Burmese pythons, originally from Southeast Asia, have genetically adapted to their new environment in Florida's Everglades. Taking the pythons out of the Everglades poses a real challenge, officials said.
DeSantis said more than $3 million has been put toward the removal of pythons in Florida. To remove more pythons more efficiently, contractors have been using the money from the state to develop better tools and technology to detect these large snakes.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a June 16, 2022, media event in Miami, where he announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be in August. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
"The Everglades, of course, is a diverse ecosystem and we are protecting this ecosystem in a variety of different ways," DeSantis said.
A summer program created by the state and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWS) called the Florida Python Challenge allows and encourages the public to hunt and remove pythons for a prize.
"This challenge allows the public to engage direct hands-on in Everglades restoration," DeSantis said. "You can win prizes and of course, you will be doing a public service."

This size snake is eating deer and alligators and any unsuspecting kid or even a grown up or two IMO.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-n...es/1207619

[/url]
Record-breaking python discovered in Florida Everglades
The astonishing discovery was made when biologists hear a rustle in nearby brush. Yet, perhaps most intriguing was what this creature, the size of a shipping container, last ate before meeting its own demise.
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jun. 25, 2022 5:00 PM ICT | Updated Jun. 25, 2022 10:21 AM ICT

The python is 18 feet in length and weighs nearly 215 pounds.
Deep in the Florida Everglades, a team from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida made a shocking discovery when they came upon a sight they will likely never forget. The biggest Burmese python the team of three had ever laid their eyes on was just mere feet from them.
Although the snake was captured in December, scientists only announced the discovery this past Tuesday after [url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/largest-burmese-python-ever-found-in-florida??rid=&cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Planet_Possible_20220621]National Geographic recently published an exclusive article on the python.
According to the conservancy, this Burmese python broke the invasive species record for the largest ever caught in Florida. The nearly 18-foot python weighed in at a whopping 215 pounds, about the size of a shipping container and shattering the 2016 record of 140 pounds. And that's not the only record for Sunshine State snakes: This female python was also pregnant and was carrying 122 eggs.
Led by environmental science project manager Ian Bartoszek, the team that captured the python included biologist Ian Easterling and intern Kyle Findley. To locate female snakes, the group uses male snakes, called "scout snakes," which are typically smaller than the females and easier to find. The team can locate the female snakes by tracking the scout snakes as they look for a mate.
When trying to locate one of the scout snakes, named Dion, in December, the team heard a rustle in a nearby brush. Trying to locate the noise, the crew spotted the python - significantly larger than Dion - and without skipping a beat, all three jumped on the extremely large reptile to restrain it.
After wrestling with the snake for roughly 20 minutes, the team was able to carry it back to the truck, Easterling said in a press conference on Wednesday.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida Invasive Species Lab announced record-breaking developments with the documentation of the largest python found to date in Florida during a press conference on June 22, 2022. The female python weighed a record-breaking 215 pounds and measured nearly 18 feet in length. (The Conservancy of Southwest Florida)
"She put up a pretty good fight," Easterling said, adding that the snake balled up her tail and took a swing at the team. Findley, the intern, dogged a swipe from the python, but Easterling wasn't as lucky and got slapped in the face with her tail.
In 2014, Bartoszek and his team were shocked when they found the first 100-pound python, which at the time was considered to be on the larger end of the scale. Two years later, the team discovered the 140-pound Burmese python, which held the record for the largest of its species in the state -- until recently.
"We don't really consider pythons big until they top 100 pounds, so now I need a new description for a 200-pound python," Bartoszek said. "It's just next level for us."
The conservancy has been following and capturing pythons to protect the native species of the Everglades for nearly a decade. Being able to capture and study these unique creatures allows Bartoszek and his team to better understand how many more of these pythons might be in the wild and what their diet consists of.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), researchers estimate that tens of thousands of pythons thrive in Florida.
When asked about how old the snake was, Bartoszek explained that Burmese pythons don't necessarily grow by age but rather by consumption. Studying the massive python resembles a crime scene, Bartoszek said, as the researchers look through the contents of the python's stomach to determine the snake's diet.
"The last meal this animal had was a white-tailed deer," Bartoszek said, noting that most pythons are big-game hunters.

A Burmese python (Everglades National Park Service/R. Cammauf)
And this python isn't the first to prey on deer. In fact, the white-tailed deer population has been dwindling since pythons took over the Everglades. As a result of the python's overconsumption of white-tailed deer, the Florida panther population, which also fed on the white-tailed deer, has decreased and is now considered endangered, The New York Times reported.
According to the USGS, several other mammal declines in the Everglades have been linked to the Burmese python. In 2015, a study confirmed that the Burmese python is now the top predator in the Everglades, taking the spot from Florida's native alligator.
"It's just unbelievable what they will ravage when they're there," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference June 17. "These snakes are destroying the natural food chain, and you can't have a healthy environment without a healthy food chain."
After being introduced to the Everglades in the 1980s as a result of the exotic pet trade, Burmese pythons have thrived in the environment, the Times reported. However, owners did not know what to do with the pythons once they became too big to manage, and many released them into the wild.
The USGS describes the Burmese python as "one of the most concerning invasive species in the Everglades National Park."
The Burmese pythons, originally from Southeast Asia, have genetically adapted to their new environment in Florida's Everglades. Taking the pythons out of the Everglades poses a real challenge, officials said.
DeSantis said more than $3 million has been put toward the removal of pythons in Florida. To remove more pythons more efficiently, contractors have been using the money from the state to develop better tools and technology to detect these large snakes.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a June 16, 2022, media event in Miami, where he announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be in August. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
"The Everglades, of course, is a diverse ecosystem and we are protecting this ecosystem in a variety of different ways," DeSantis said.
A summer program created by the state and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWS) called the Florida Python Challenge allows and encourages the public to hunt and remove pythons for a prize.
"This challenge allows the public to engage direct hands-on in Everglades restoration," DeSantis said. "You can win prizes and of course, you will be doing a public service."

This size snake is eating deer and alligators and any unsuspecting kid or even a grown up or two IMO.

I know a woman that makes a living out of tracking down non-Florida native snakes in the Everglades.

She has caught quite a few really large ones. I doubt she has ever come across one quite that big.

[Ninurta]

I've never been to Florida. It's just one of those places that held no appeal to draw me there. However, if you can go the the Everglades and legally hunt pythons, I might be induced if I get to keep the ones I kill.

I can eat for a long time off 200 pounds of python!

'

[727Sky]

I've never been to Florida. It's just one of those places that held no appeal to draw me there. However, if you can go the the Everglades and legally hunt pythons, I might be induced if I get to keep the ones I kill.

I can eat for a long time off 200 pounds of python!

'

We used to do Rattle snake round ups in West Texas followed by a big Rattle snake cook out... I do not care how you spice it the meat always come out oily and stingy... OK for an end of the world survival situation otherwise I would pass.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I've never been to Florida. It's just one of those places that held no appeal to draw me there. However, if you can go the the Everglades and legally hunt pythons, I might be induced if I get to keep the ones I kill.

I can eat for a long time off 200 pounds of python!

'

You have to turn in the snake for it to be counted and humanely destroyed. But you can keep the carcass.

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/22/110563914...-challenge

[Snarl]

I've never been to Florida. It's just one of those places that held no appeal to draw me there. However, if you can go the the Everglades and legally hunt pythons, I might be induced if I get to keep the ones I kill.

I can eat for a long time off 200 pounds of python!

We used to do Rattle snake round ups in West Texas followed by a big Rattle snake cook out... I do not care how you spice it the meat always come out oily and stingy... OK for an end of the world survival situation otherwise I would pass.

You've gotta boil the oiliness out. Can't let it cook though. Then, sear it on a real hot pan in crushed red pepper soaked down with grape-seed oil. You can eat it right there or toss it on the smoker for even more deliciousness.

You guys can have them big snakes though.  Them things are scary strong.  One mistake and you're the one gonna get et.

[727Sky]

I've never been to Florida. It's just one of those places that held no appeal to draw me there. However, if you can go the the Everglades and legally hunt pythons, I might be induced if I get to keep the ones I kill.

I can eat for a long time off 200 pounds of python!

We used to do Rattle snake round ups in West Texas followed by a big Rattle snake cook out... I do not care how you spice it the meat always come out oily and stingy... OK for an end of the world survival situation otherwise I would pass.

You've gotta boil the oiliness out. Can't let it cook though. Then, sear it on a real hot pan in crushed red pepper soaked down with grape-seed oil. You can eat it right there or toss it on the smoker for even more deliciousness.

You guys can have them big snakes though.  Them things are scary strong.  One mistake and you're the one gonna get et.

Humm never tried boiled as the cookouts were several big boiling grease fryers...skin, gut, and dump using long prongs.

[ABNARTY]

I love those python hunting shows. 

However, the big ones need a few people to subdue it. 

I do not know the laws or the bounty rules. For me, a quick shot to the head with a .22 seems like such an easy solution once you have cornered it. 

But what do I know.

[Brotherman]

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-n...es/1207619

[/url]
Record-breaking python discovered in Florida Everglades
The astonishing discovery was made when biologists hear a rustle in nearby brush. Yet, perhaps most intriguing was what this creature, the size of a shipping container, last ate before meeting its own demise.
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jun. 25, 2022 5:00 PM ICT | Updated Jun. 25, 2022 10:21 AM ICT

The python is 18 feet in length and weighs nearly 215 pounds.
Deep in the Florida Everglades, a team from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida made a shocking discovery when they came upon a sight they will likely never forget. The biggest Burmese python the team of three had ever laid their eyes on was just mere feet from them.
Although the snake was captured in December, scientists only announced the discovery this past Tuesday after [url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/largest-burmese-python-ever-found-in-florida??rid=&cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Planet_Possible_20220621]National Geographic recently published an exclusive article on the python.
According to the conservancy, this Burmese python broke the invasive species record for the largest ever caught in Florida. The nearly 18-foot python weighed in at a whopping 215 pounds, about the size of a shipping container and shattering the 2016 record of 140 pounds. And that's not the only record for Sunshine State snakes: This female python was also pregnant and was carrying 122 eggs.
Led by environmental science project manager Ian Bartoszek, the team that captured the python included biologist Ian Easterling and intern Kyle Findley. To locate female snakes, the group uses male snakes, called "scout snakes," which are typically smaller than the females and easier to find. The team can locate the female snakes by tracking the scout snakes as they look for a mate.
When trying to locate one of the scout snakes, named Dion, in December, the team heard a rustle in a nearby brush. Trying to locate the noise, the crew spotted the python - significantly larger than Dion - and without skipping a beat, all three jumped on the extremely large reptile to restrain it.
After wrestling with the snake for roughly 20 minutes, the team was able to carry it back to the truck, Easterling said in a press conference on Wednesday.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida Invasive Species Lab announced record-breaking developments with the documentation of the largest python found to date in Florida during a press conference on June 22, 2022. The female python weighed a record-breaking 215 pounds and measured nearly 18 feet in length. (The Conservancy of Southwest Florida)
"She put up a pretty good fight," Easterling said, adding that the snake balled up her tail and took a swing at the team. Findley, the intern, dogged a swipe from the python, but Easterling wasn't as lucky and got slapped in the face with her tail.
In 2014, Bartoszek and his team were shocked when they found the first 100-pound python, which at the time was considered to be on the larger end of the scale. Two years later, the team discovered the 140-pound Burmese python, which held the record for the largest of its species in the state -- until recently.
"We don't really consider pythons big until they top 100 pounds, so now I need a new description for a 200-pound python," Bartoszek said. "It's just next level for us."
The conservancy has been following and capturing pythons to protect the native species of the Everglades for nearly a decade. Being able to capture and study these unique creatures allows Bartoszek and his team to better understand how many more of these pythons might be in the wild and what their diet consists of.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), researchers estimate that tens of thousands of pythons thrive in Florida.
When asked about how old the snake was, Bartoszek explained that Burmese pythons don't necessarily grow by age but rather by consumption. Studying the massive python resembles a crime scene, Bartoszek said, as the researchers look through the contents of the python's stomach to determine the snake's diet.
"The last meal this animal had was a white-tailed deer," Bartoszek said, noting that most pythons are big-game hunters.

A Burmese python (Everglades National Park Service/R. Cammauf)
And this python isn't the first to prey on deer. In fact, the white-tailed deer population has been dwindling since pythons took over the Everglades. As a result of the python's overconsumption of white-tailed deer, the Florida panther population, which also fed on the white-tailed deer, has decreased and is now considered endangered, The New York Times reported.
According to the USGS, several other mammal declines in the Everglades have been linked to the Burmese python. In 2015, a study confirmed that the Burmese python is now the top predator in the Everglades, taking the spot from Florida's native alligator.
"It's just unbelievable what they will ravage when they're there," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference June 17. "These snakes are destroying the natural food chain, and you can't have a healthy environment without a healthy food chain."
After being introduced to the Everglades in the 1980s as a result of the exotic pet trade, Burmese pythons have thrived in the environment, the Times reported. However, owners did not know what to do with the pythons once they became too big to manage, and many released them into the wild.
The USGS describes the Burmese python as "one of the most concerning invasive species in the Everglades National Park."
The Burmese pythons, originally from Southeast Asia, have genetically adapted to their new environment in Florida's Everglades. Taking the pythons out of the Everglades poses a real challenge, officials said.
DeSantis said more than $3 million has been put toward the removal of pythons in Florida. To remove more pythons more efficiently, contractors have been using the money from the state to develop better tools and technology to detect these large snakes.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a June 16, 2022, media event in Miami, where he announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be in August. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
"The Everglades, of course, is a diverse ecosystem and we are protecting this ecosystem in a variety of different ways," DeSantis said.
A summer program created by the state and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWS) called the Florida Python Challenge allows and encourages the public to hunt and remove pythons for a prize.
"This challenge allows the public to engage direct hands-on in Everglades restoration," DeSantis said. "You can win prizes and of course, you will be doing a public service."

This size snake is eating deer and alligators and any unsuspecting kid or even a grown up or two IMO.

That’s a big fucking snake. I could make some rad ass clown pants out of something like that so I look cool in clown world!