The encounter, while unfortunate for the deer, advances understandings of what kind of threats this invasive species poses to Florida’s ecosystem: The new findings show pythons can eat larger prey than previously thought.
“Watching an invasive apex predator swallow a full-sized deer in front of you is something that you will never forget,” said Ian Bartoszek, a researcher with the conservancy. “The impact the Burmese python is having on native wildlife cannot be denied. This is a wildlife issue of our time for the Greater Everglades ecosystem.”
The python’s measurements come in at 14.8 feet and 115 pounds. The deer, weighing 77 pounds, comprises almost 67 percent of the snake’s mass. Because pythons’ lower jawbones are not fused at the front of their mouths, their jaws can stretch incredibly wide, allowing them to consume predators larger than half their mass, according to conservancy research.
Researchers with the conservancy shared on Facebook this week that they track pythons throughout the year and remove them when possible.
They also stated the deer was already dead when they came upon the encounter, and said they would’ve intervened to save the deer had it not been. After the situation played out, the team humanely euthanized the snake and used the body for research, they said.
In March 2018, a similar story played out in Florida when a python consumed a deer that weighed more than the snake itself. The conservancy is continuing to monitor and study the Burmese python species to help determine appropriate strategies to control the snake population.
Burmese python sightings can be reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Exotic Species Hotline at 1-888-483-4681. As live transport of pythons is not allowed, the snakes must be humanely killed, with landowner permission on private land, on site. On commission-managed lands, non-native reptiles, including pythons, may be humanely killed at any time. Visit the FWC website for more information.
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This article appears in Oct 23-29, 2024.