Captured Burmese Python Found To Have Three Deer In Its Gut
A Burmese python was found in the Florida Everglades with three whole deer in its gut. The animals included one doe and two fawns. Wildlife officials in the area captured the snake and euthanised it according to a new study. The feat is a new world record as being the first invasive Burmese python captured with three deer in its gut said Scott Boback co-lead author of the study.
Kills likely to place over three months
It is likely that the python attacked and consumed the deer at different times over a 3-month period Mr Boback said. That may seem like quite a long time span, but according to Mr Boback in actual fact it is really very surprising that a snake would eat three huge meals during a relatively short window. He adds that if a python has the ability to consume three deer in three months it begs the question, what else are they eating that we don’t know about. No one is even sure how many Burmese python are roaming in the Everglades.
No one knows how the Python arrived in the Everglades
Burmese pythons are actually native to South-East Asia, but for reasons still not understood a population was established in the Everglades during the 1990’s. The species can grow to as long as 5.5 metres or 18 feet in the Everglades. They are constrictors which means they use their powerful muscles to wrap themselves around their prey until blood circulation stops. It is not immediately obvious how and when the python attacked the deer, but it is likely the python was hiding in the water waiting for the animals to make a pit stop to drink.
Python invasion
Pythons have insatiable appetites and have had a hugely damaging effect on the Everglades ecosystem said Mr Boback. The species hunt animals native to the region including birds, mammals and on one occasion even an alligator according to the study. There have been other studies conducted in the Everglades which have shown there is a relationship between the presence of pythons and a decline in the mammal population of species such as raccoons, rabbits, opossums and even bobcats.
