177-pound python caught in Florida is one of the heaviest officials have seen
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) caught one of the heaviest Burmese pythons ever recorded.
The python was caught in the Everglades Francis S. Taylor WMA by Kurt Cox.
According to their data, this massive snake weighed the most on record in the FWC's PATRIC program and the fourth heaviest they have on record. It is also the 22nd longest on record. PATRIC stands for Python Action Team Removing Invasive Constrictors, an initiative started in 2017 that offers money for the capture of pythons. Nonnative constrictors measuring at least four feet long are worth $50, with an additional $25 for each foot longer.
The heaviest Burmese python that has been caught was a 215-pound, 17.7-foot female python in December 2021. That snake was captured by Ian Bartoszek with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
The longest snake the FWC has removed was another female, measuring 19 feet long and weighing 125.56 pounds. She was captured by citizen Jake Waleri in July 2023.
Burmese pythons are nonvenomous constrictors that are invasive in Florida. They typically live in or near the Everglades.
The apex predators are considered a threat to local animal populations, as well as pets and even humans. The snakes have decimated a number of animal populations, especially in the southernmost parts of Everglades National Park.
One study that observed animals in the Everglades as pythons proliferated between 2003 and 2011, found that sightings of raccoons dropped 99.3%, followed by opossums (98.9%) and bobcats (87.5%). Rabbits were no longer seen during the night surveys by the end of the study.
According to the FWC, these snakes are illegal to have as pets.
For more information on these pythons, visit the FWC website.