Python swallows alligator, scientists kill snake and uncover carcass
A 5.5-meter-long Burmese python that swallowed a 1.5-meter-long crocodile lies stretched out in the room while Florida scientist Rosie Moore and her colleagues perform an autopsy.
Courtesy of Rosie Moore, Palm Beach Post
- The Florida Python Challenge is a python removal competition held in August.
- The participants have nine days to kill as many Burmese pythons as possible.
- A viral Instagram video shows an autopsy revealing the 5-foot-long carcass of an alligator inside a Burmese python necklace.
None for me, thanks.
In 2022, Florida scientist and internet personality Rosie Moore posted a video on Instagram of herself and her colleagues performing an autopsy on an 18-foot-long Burmese python. The video, which currently has over 440,000 likes, revealed that the large snake had swallowed an alligator whole.
The non-native Burmese python has long plagued the Everglades, preying on all manner of animals, including the endangered Key Largo woodrat. The large constrictors, originally from Asia, are considered an invasive species because of their impact on the region’s wildlife, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website.
To rid the Everglades of these snakes, the FWC and its partners are hosting the Florida Python Challenge, encouraging novice, professional and military hunters to euthanize these snakes. The challenge ends on Sunday, August 18.
What is the Florida Python Challenge?
The Florida Python Challenge is a python removal contest that takes place in August. Contestants have nine days to kill as many Burmese pythons as possible. The 2024 Python Removal Contest begins on August 9 at 12:01 a.m. and ends on August 18 at 5:00 p.m. The contest helps protect the Everglades habitat and all of the wildlife that calls it home by removing the invasive Burmese pythons.
Everything you need to know: Florida Python Challenge, the snake hunt with a cult-like following
How to register for the Florida Python Challenge 2024
Interested hunters can register until the last day of the competition on August 18th.
To register, participants must read the Florida Python Challenge rules and regulations and complete the required online training with a score of 85% or higher, then complete their registration and pay the $25 fee. Register here.
Can you kill a Burmese python with a gun in the Florida Python Challenge?
Competitors are not permitted to kill pythons with firearms during the Florida Python Challenge, as it is not firearms season at competition sites during the period. Novices must humanely kill their captured pythons immediately after capture. They may kill pythons at any time of the day or night using air rifles and bolt guns.
Check the rules: Can you kill a python with a gun in the Florida Python Challenge? Here are the rules
Humane hunting: 5 Things You Need to Know to Humanely Kill a Burmese Python at the Florida Python Challenge
The Burmese Python Hunt Has Begun. What Other Animals in Florida Can You Kill?
Interns are on python patrol in the protected area west of Boynton Beach
Interns Jared Stroman and Casey Bradley on python patrol at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
For the general public, pythons are relatively easy to avoid. They are not poisonous, but they are killers and have been known to eat large alligators and deer, sometimes with explosive consequences.
They join many other animals in Florida – some native, like the alligator, others invasive, like the Burmese python – that can pose a danger to humans or even be fatal.
You can read the whole story here: Python hunting: Florida has dangerous animals that can be fatal. Here is a list of the deadliest
Ashley Ferrer is a reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. Support our journalism. Subscribe today.
