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Under the cover of darkness , two wildlife official raided an invading python ’s nest in a South Florida swamp and successfully wrestled 19 wriggling hatchling and their female parent into a bag and out of the protected home ground . The next day , one of the officials captured a second breeding female — measuring an astounding 17.5 fundament ( 5.3 metre ) long — from the exact same spot .
Burmese pythons ( Python bivittatus ) were first insert to Florida in the 1970s and have since established large rearing populations in southern regions of the state . The humongous snakes usually grow to be about 6 to 9 understructure ( 1.8 to 2.7 m ) long , although recently , official catch anearly 18 foot ( 5.4 m ) recollective pythonnear Naples that weighed 215 Irish punt ( 97 kilograms ) , Live Science previously reported . With few natural predators in Florida , the incursive snakes pose a menace to many native raspberry , mammals and even alligators , accord to theFlorida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission(FWC ) .
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Matthew Rubenstein (right) holds the neck of a female Burmese python. He and python removal contractor Alex McDuffie (center) found the python on her nest in a preserve in South Florida.
For this cause , the FWC and other organizations use a number of strategies to find , capture and move out Python from South Florida ecosystems ; this includes hiring contractors to review snake - infested swamp and conquer any python they find .
Alex McDuffie is one such contractile organ , engage by the South Florida Water Management District . Just before midnight on Monday ( July 11 ) , McDuffie spot a newly - dream up Burmese python youngster in the Big Cypress National Preserve , a 729,000 - acre ( 2,950 straight km ) fresh water swamp ecosystem located in Ochopee , Florida , northward of Everglades National Park . While tracking the snake in the grass , he take to the woods into FWC Officer Matthew Rubenstein , who was police the commons and pronto joined the ophidian hunt , according to astatementfrom the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission .
Related : Watch a python swallow an Aepyceros melampus whole in this jaw - dismiss video
Python removal contractor Alex McDuffie captured a 17.5 foot long python in Big Cypress National Preserve on July 12.
The two presently discovered a Burmese python baby’s room , where a large female sat coiled upon 23 unhatched eggs and 18 python hatchling . Another python nest rest nearby , they take down , and when McDuffie return to the land site the next daytime , he found a 2nd breeding female and removed it from the home ground .
— World ’s old python dodo unearthed
— trance 17 - foot - long python was about to have 73 babies
— fresh discovered hybrid pythons could threaten Florida ’s Everglades
" The python and unhatched ballock were removed from the tender habitat , helping to prevent future negative impacts to our aboriginal wildlife , " the FWC foretell in aFacebook postshared July 14 . " Great Book of Job , Officer Rubenstein and Alex ! "
In the Facebook post , the FWC also included a reminder about the upcomingFlorida Python Challenge , an annual 10 - day python removal challenger that will run from August 5 to 14 this year . Participants can register as novices or professionals , with professionals being experienced multitude who are pay to remove pythons from the Everglades . In both categories , participants can gain cash pillage for capturing the most or foresighted python , and extra awards will be provided for old hand and fighting member of the armed services .
More than 600 people take part in last yr ’s Python Challenge , and collectively , they removed 223 Burmese python from the Everglades , according to theFWC .
Originally published on Live Science .
