Florida team tow the largest Burmese python female ever

Naples, Florida — A biologist recently brought to the heaviest location Burmese pythons ever caught in Team Florida, officials said.

The female python weighed 215 pounds (98 kilograms), was about 5 meters (18 feet) long, and had 122 developing eggs, southwestern Florida. The protected area states: news release. The

team used a radio transmitter transplanted into a male "scout" snake to study python movement, reproductive behavior, and habitat use, a wildlife biologist and environmental science. Project manager Ian Bartoszek said.

"How do you find a needle in a haystack? You can also use a magnet. In a similar way, a male scout snake is attracted to the largest female around it," Bartoszek said. Mr. says. The

team used a scout snake named Dionysus (Dion for short) in the western region of the Everglades.

"We knew he was there for a reason, and the team found him with the biggest woman we've ever seen."

Biologist Ian Easterling and intern Kyle Findley helped capture a female snake and bring it to a field track through the woods.

An autopsy also found a hoof core in the snake's digestive system. This means that the adult white-tailed deer was the last meal.

National Geographic records the findings and highlights the continued impact of the invasive python, known for its rapid breeding and depletion of surrounding native wildlife.

Bartoszek stated that the removal of female pythons plays an important role in disrupting the breeding cycle.

"This is a wildlife issue of our time in southern Florida," he said.

The reserve's python program has been around since it was launched in 2013. Removed over 1,000 pythons. 100 square miles (25,900 hectares) in southwestern Florida.

Within that range, autopsy found dozens of white-tailed deer in the Burmese python. Data researchers at the University of Florida recorded 24 mammals, 47 birds, and 2 reptiles from the stomach of a snake.

Earlier, recent discoveries showed that the largest female taken away by the Conservancy program weighed 185 pounds (84 kilograms) at the time in Florida. Officials said it was the heaviest python captured. The

state Python removal program will run for two weeks in August. Participants will compete for prizes, including $ 2,500 to catch most pythons.

Last year's agenda was attended by more than 600 people from 25 states.