122 Eggs And Roughly 100 Kg Burmese Python Were Captured By Florida Researchers
122 Eggs And Roughly 100 Kg Burmese Python Were Captured By Florida Researchers (Source: conservancyswf/ Instagram)
Biologists in Florida, USA, witnessed a magnificent study opportunity to capture the largest Burmese python ever seen. The enormous snake, which was caught by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, is 18 feet long and weighs a whopping 215 pounds, or roughly 98 kilogrammes. This capture has sparked serious discussions about the preservation of natural habitats in the US state.
The female reptile, which is also carrying a record-breaking amount of eggs, was displayed at a news conference held by the conservation organisation on Thursday to announce the development. In the snake's abdomen, researchers discovered 122 developing eggs in total.
The maximum number of eggs that a female python may lay during a breeding cycle is now lowered as a result of this discovery. Additionally, a review of the snake's digestive system revealed hoof cores, indicating that an adult white-tailed deer, a key prey item for the endangered Florida panther, was the snake's final meal.
The organisation emphasised how the latest discoveries showed how the invasive species, an apex predator from Southeast Asia, is still having an influence on Florida's ecosystems by chowing down on a wide range of native species.
The invasive species was brought to the US in the 1970s as an exotic pet, but it is known for spreading quickly outside of people's houses and capturing wild animals, which causes the local native wildlife to become depleted.
The Conservancy's team has used its targeted removal method, in which they employ radio transmitters implanted in male "scout" snakes to detect breeding females, to remove multiple record-breaking huge snakes.
In order to collect breeding females and their developing eggs from the wild. The researchers said that scout snakes can direct biologists to breeding aggregations and large, reproductive females.
Meanwhile, this is the largest female python the crew has ever removed from the wild, despite the fact that they have removed several enormous snakes since they began their operations in 2013. The largest snake ever taken through the programme, which was previously the heaviest python ever caught in Florida, weighed 185 pounds.