Engineers in the Everglades
stumbled upon a near-record-breaking Burmese python measuring more than
18 feet long during a routine inspection of levees on Tuesday, a water
management district spokesman said. The snake, measuring at 18 feet 2 inches, fell short of the state
record by 6 inches, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission.
Last
year, a snake collector in the state discovered the largest python on
record there, measuring 18 feet 8 inches, commission spokeswoman Katie
Johnson said.
The pythons,
which can grow to more than 20 feet in their native habitat in Southeast
Asia, are one of the most problematic invaders of Florida's sprawling
Everglades wetlands.
They eat
indigenous species and their food sources, fueling concerns that the
predator snakes will fundamentally change the ecosystem.
The python found on Tuesday was killed, and its corpse was taken to the
University of Florida, where it will be measured and studied by
scientists trying to combat the species, according to South Florida
Water Management District spokesman Gabe Margasak.
Officials have said the python population is believed to have grown to
as many as 150,000 in the Everglades. The cold-blooded reptiles are
often found atop levees, where they lie for hours at a time to warm up
under the Florida sun.
The
snakes, one of the largest species in the world, found a home to their
liking in the Everglades when pet owners started using the wetlands as a
convenient dumping ground.
Reuters
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