Massive python weighs in at almost 200 pounds and is second heaviest caught in Florida

Mark H. Bickel, Naples Daily News
Updated ·3 min read

The invasive Burmese python slithering around the Everglades, and now in some other places in Florida, is starting to give the alligator a run for its money when it comes to the number of jaw-dropping photos and videos posted by hunters and others who encounter these creatures.

This year has been a significant one for the python, with the record set for the longest python ever caught in the Sunshine State in July.

Last week, python hunters in the Big Cypress Preserve, led by conservationist Mike Elfenbein, nabbed the second-heaviest python ever recorded in Florida. According to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, where data was collected from the snake, it weighed 198 pounds and it was 17 feet, 2 inches long.

A team of python hunters, led by Mike Elfenbein, center, captured a 198 pound Burmese python in the Big Cypress Preserve on Nov. 3. The python was the second-heaviest ever caught in Florida.
A team of python hunters, led by Mike Elfenbein, center, captured a 198 pound Burmese python in the Big Cypress Preserve on Nov. 3. The python was the second-heaviest ever caught in Florida.

It was found crossing a road in the Big Cypress National Preserve on Nov. 3.

On his Instagram page, Elfenbein said: Officially 17’2” & 198 Pounds. This snake ate a lot of native wildlife to get this big. She ate her last meal! It took five of us to control her, glad to have removed her from our Everglades where she can no longer eat our wildlife.

Elfenbein was joined on the hunt by his son, Cole, and Trey Barber, Carter Gavlock and Holden Hunter.

"It was more than a snake; it was a monster," Elfenbein told CBS News.

How it happened: Python hunter shares dramatic details about capturing 198-pound snake, calling it a 'battle'

What is the record for heaviest python caught in Florida?

According to Ian Bartoszek, the environmental science coordinator at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the heaviest python ever captured weighed 215 pounds and had a length of 18 feet. She was caught by Conservancy biologists in the Picayune Strand State Forest and was found by radio-tracking a male scout snake.

The longest python captured in Florida (July 2023) measured 19 feet and was found crossing the road in Big Cypress National Preserve and weighed only 125 pounds.

Part of Bartoszek's job is to put things in perspective, and right now, it sounds as if his concern levels regarding the Burmese python and the negative impact it is having on the environment are at an all-time high.

See our very best python photos: 28 of the best Burmese python photos from our archives

Conservationist Mike Elfenbein holds a 198-pound Burmese python, he and a team of python hunters captured in the Big Cypress Preserve on Nov. 3. He was joined by his son, Cole, and Trey Barber, Carter Gavlock and Holden Hunter for the hunt.
Conservationist Mike Elfenbein holds a 198-pound Burmese python, he and a team of python hunters captured in the Big Cypress Preserve on Nov. 3. He was joined by his son, Cole, and Trey Barber, Carter Gavlock and Holden Hunter for the hunt.

“Burmese pythons are impacting Florida's native wildlife at an incredible scale. This 198-pound invasive snake had the remains of white-tailed deer hooves in its stomach. At the Conservancy, we have observed an alarming number of deer during necropsies of pythons," Bartoszek said. "Surprisingly the pythons don’t have to reach XL sizes to prey on deer. Last season we found a 6-pound fawn inside a 7-foot, 10-pound python. How many more observations do we need to see to realize how much of an impact these invasive snakes are having throughout the Greater Everglades?”

Python hunter Amy Siewe poses with what has been recorded as the second heaviest Burmese python caught in the state of Florida. It was caught on Nov. 3, 2023 in the Big Cypress National Preserve. The python was caught by conservationist Mike Elfenbein.
Python hunter Amy Siewe poses with what has been recorded as the second heaviest Burmese python caught in the state of Florida. It was caught on Nov. 3, 2023 in the Big Cypress National Preserve. The python was caught by conservationist Mike Elfenbein.

On her Facebook page, python hunter Amy Siewe posted: "She was the fattest python I have ever seen. She killed so many of our animals. Never again."

On Siewe's Facebook page and Elfenbein's Instagram page, the comments included:

  • Mike Firesmith: A dozen or so small mammals just had their lives saved. Good work!

  • John Summers: Great job well done. Elimination from our ecosystem.

  • Candy McClure: Thank God she is no longer able to kill innocent animals.

  • Mike Curry: Now I've got a question for you. Can you eat those things? If so is there any way to feed the hungry people or the less fortunate people down there with the meat?

Siewe replied to that last comment, saying: "Unfortunately the meat is incredibly chewy and full of mercury. So there is nothing we can really do with it."

For Bartoszek, the size or weight of these pythons isn't his focus. The focus is on how to eliminate these predators to protect the environment they are raiding.

“Let's not get caught up in the largest, or second largest, or longest python; let's realize the impact these animals are having on native wildlife and get after them," Bartoszek said. “To date, research partners at the University of Florida have identified over 24 species of mammal, 47 species of bird and 3 species of reptile predated upon by Burmese pythons.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Burmese python, second heaviest ever caught in Florida, weighs 198 lbs