The eye-popping 19-foot-long Burmese python was caught this week by snake hunters in Florida, according to officials.
According to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the enormous slitherer was found on Monday in Big Cypress National Preserve, some 45 miles west of Miami. The previous longest Burmese python, which measured 18 feet and 9 inches and was also discovered in Florida, was surpassed by the record-breaking female python, which weighed 125 pounds, according to a statement released by the conservancy on Wednesday.
The longest Burmese python ever captured in Florida was held by Stephen Gauta and Jake Waleri.
The longest Burmese python ever captured in Florida was held by Stephen Gauta and Jake Waleri.South Florida's Conservancy.
The conservancy is a Naples-based environmental NGO.
Jake Waleri, 22, who discovered the snake, claimed to have known that it needed to be weighed and measured for scientific purposes.
"We transported the snake to the Conservancy so that it could be measured and formally recorded. We wanted to give this discovery to science," he added in a statement to the conservancy.
Burmese pythons, according to the environmental organization, are a "invasive apex predator" that has to be eliminated from the ecosystem of Southwest Florida.
According to the conservancy, the heaviest Burmese python ever discovered in Florida weighed 215 pounds and was discovered in 2022.
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It is crucial to document how long Burmese pythons can grow, according to Ian Easterling, a biologist with the conservancy.
"We suspected that these snakes could grow to be this large, and now we have concrete proof. In the future, knowing the origins of South Florida's founding population may benefit from her genetic DNA, according to Easterling.
According to National Geographic, Burmese pythons are favored by owners of large reptiles because of their placid disposition. According to National Geographic, they are regularly mistreated, frequently released into the wild, and attacks on their keepers are not unusual.
The grassy marshes and rainforests of Southeast Asia are home to the reptiles. They can reach a height of 23 feet or more, and according to National Geographic, small mammals and birds make up the majority of their diet. According to National Geographic, they murder by coiling their bodies around their prey and squeezing till asphyxia while also gripping it with their fangs.