12-foot invasive python was 100 miles farther north than expected in Florida, state says
A nearly 12-foot Burmese python was caught in Brevard County, Florida, which is about 100 miles farther north than expected for the troublesome invasive snakes, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Hunters reported killing the snake in the T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, after spotting it near a road on Sunday, Oct. 29, WOFL reported.
A necropsy performed by the FWC Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Program determined the snake was male, 11 feet, 10 inches long and weighed 52 pounds.
“At this time, we do not know how this invasive snake arrived to Brevard County,” Lisa Thompson of the FWC’s Division of Habitat and Species Conservation told McClatchy News in an email.
“Burmese pythons are established from just south of Lake Okeechobee to Key Largo and from western Broward County west to Collier County, locations greater than 100 miles south of Brevard County.”
T.M Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area covers 6,270 acres, much of it freshwater marsh, the state says. The site, about 165 miles north of Miami, is a popular destination for hunting, fishing, hiking and biking.
Burmese pythons are typically found in South Florida’s Everglades ecosystem. A few have been discovered farther north, experts say, but it’s believed those are likely escaped or released pets versus snakes born in the wild.
The species is native to southeast Asia and believed to have been introduced to Florida via the pet trade, the state says.
It is illegal to possess Burmese pythons in Florida without a permit and they cannot be kept as pets, due to their impact on native species.
The stomach contents of captured pythons reveals they are feeding on “24 species of mammal, 47 species of bird and 2 reptile species” in Florida, a Conservancy of Southwest Florida study revealed. This includes deer and alligators.
Burmese pythons are nonvenomous constrictors, meaning they squeeze their prey to death. The largest found in Florida was 18 feet long, FWC reports, but average 6 to 9 feet in length.
Sightings of Burmese pythons in Florida can be reported to the FWC’s Invasive Species Reporting Hotline at 888-IVE-GOT1.
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