Alligator caught devouring ‘invasive’ python in Florida
A woman in Florida caught a brawl between a Burmese python and an alligator on camera during a recent trip to Everglades National Park.
Alison Joslyn came across the scene while riding her bike in the park’s Shark Valley and posted the footage on Facebook.
“As an amateur wildlife photographer, I knew immediately I was seeing something very special,” Alison Joslyn told Storyful.
“I thought both might be dead until the gator opened an eye to look at me!”
The Florida park is visited by around 1 million people annually, according to the National Park Service. and is the only place in the world where alligators co-exist with crocodiles.
It’s also the only place in the US where visitors can see crocodiles, due to a mix of fresh water from Lake Okeechobee and seawater.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Burmese python is a large, nonvenomous constrictor and an invasive species in the state. They are primarily found in and around the Everglades ecosystem.
The species is considered to be one of the largest snakes in the world and officials consider it a threat to the state’s native wildlife. The biggest Burmese python to be captured in the state was 18ft long.
As a result, members of the public can capture and kill the pythons without a permit and year-round on private property.
“In Florida, Burmese pythons have been found to prey upon a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles and alligator’s,” according to the conservation commission.
