Giant Python Capable of Eating Alligators Killed With Her 60 Eggs

Burmese pythons are hefty snakes at the best of times, but try wrangling one when she is pregnant.

A snake trapper in Florida's Everglades recently caught a 16-foot-long female loaded with over 60 eggs.

"I could tell she was gravid with eggs before even opening her up by how fat the base of her tail was, also a clear indicator that they are ready to be laid," trapper Mike Kimmel, owner of Martin County Trapping and Wildlife Rescue, told Newsweek. "I did not get an official weight on that snake but she was easily over 100lbs."

From left, Kimmel and Otto next to the 16-foot-python and the 16-foot-python and her 60 eggs after she was captured in the Everglades. Martin County Trapping & Wildlife Rescue

Kimmel and his dog, Otto, tracked down the enormous python on July 6.

Burmese pythons are one of the largest species of snakes in the world and are native to Southeast Asia. While they are classed as vulnerable to extinction in their native habitat by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, they are an invasive species in Florida and are considered a threat to native wildlife.

"Pythons are such a big problem in our Everglades because they are a nonnative predator that our native species have no instincts or defenses against," Kimmel said. "Pythons have played a huge role in the 90-99 percent decline of our small fur bearing wildlife like marsh rabbits and otters."

And it's not just the small mammals that need to worry. "A python this size can eat anything in the Everglades, as I've proven with the multiple adult alligators I've rescued from being eaten by pythons," Kimmel said.

However, while tens of thousands of these invasive snakes are estimated to exist in the Everglades, finding them is a lot easier said than done. "While pythons have successfully established a widespread breeding population in the Everglades, finding them is still extremely difficult because of their cryptic nature and excellent camouflage," Kimmel said. "Hunters can spend weeks hunting and not find a single one...especially if not using a trained dog like Otto!"

While there are different methods for capturing these snakes, Kimmel likes to go old school, using just his hands. "This is the most humane way to remove the snake as I'm able to gain control of it before euthanizing with a .22lr directly to the brain," he said. "This is also the most secure method to ensure the python doesn't escape, I've never had one get away from me in my entire career and it's because I go hands on with every single one."

After this particular python was euthanized, the enormous eggs were cut out from her body. "Python eggs are the largest eggs found in Florida, about twice the size of an alligator egg," Kimmel said. "Once the eggs are removed they are frozen, [and] I then preserve them in glass jars to be donated or sold as educational displays."

Should you ever see a Burmese python in the wild in Florida, the state Wildlife Commission says it should be informed immediately.

Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about snakes? Let us know via [email protected].