17-Foot Python With 73 Eggs Deemed Largest Python Ever Removed From Big Cypress National Preserve

By  //  April 6, 2019

weighed 140 pounds

The largest python ever removed from Big Cypress National Preserve was recently caught and measured over 17 feet long, weighed 140 pounds, and contained 73 developing eggs. (FWC Image)

FLORIDA – The largest python ever removed from Big Cypress National Preserve was recently caught and measured over 17 feet long, weighed 140 pounds, and contained 73 developing eggs.

The female python was caught because of research and a new approach to finding pythons.

Using male pythons with radio transmitters allows the team to track the male to locate breeding females. The team not only removes the invasive snakes, but collects data for research, develop new removal tools, and learn how the pythons are using the Preserve.

The team tracked one of the sentinel males with the transmitter and found this massive female nearby.

All of the python work at Big Cypress is focused on controlling this invasive species, which poses significant threats to native wildlife.

The Resource Management staff would like to thank all of the Preserve divisions that have supported the python program. Their support, along with the tireless efforts of our partners at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), have allowed us to locate and remove several breeding female pythons over the past few months.

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