Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

This Humongous Python Just Broke An Impressive Record In The Florida Everglades

This Humongous Python Just Broke An Impressive Record In The Florida Everglades
Big Cypress National Preserve/Facebook

Hissssstory in the making!


Researchers in the Florida Everglades captured a 17-foot-long Burmese python, the largest ever removed from the Big Cypress National Preserve, last week. The snake weighed an impressive 140 pounds.

The snake also contained 73 developing eggs, which for must be the stuff of nightmares for many of you.

As the preserve wrote on its Facebook page:

This female was over 17 feet long, weighed 140 pounds, and contained 73 developing eggs.

She is the largest python ever removed from Big Cypress National Preserve-- and she was caught because of research and a new approach to finding pythons.

Whoa:

Using male pythons with radio transmitters allows the team to track the male to locate breeding females. The team not only removes the invasive snakes, but collects data for research, develop new removal tools, and learn how the pythons are using the Preserve.

The team tracked one of the sentinel males with the transmitter and found this massive female nearby.

The Burmese python is an invasive species, FYI:

All of the python work at Big Cypress is focused on controlling this invasive species, which poses significant threats to native wildlife.

The Resource Management staff would like to thank all of the Preseve divisions that have supported the python program. Their support, along with the tireless efforts of our partners at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), have allowed us to locate and remove several breeding female pythons over the past few months. Thanks everyone!

Remember that the EDDMapS allows you to enter data where you see pythons in Big Cypress. Your information will be used in fighting this invasive species.

Wow, this thing is huge:

The Burmese python is native to Southeast Asia but as many as 100,000 pythons live in the Florida Everglades, likely the result of being abandoned by pet owners when they grew too large to handle safely. Authorities believe some pythons may have escaped from a breeding site destroyed during Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Pythons that are captured in the Florida Everglades are euthanized.

As the preserve explained:

They are being humanely euthanized because they are having a huge, negative impact on native animals such as deer, wading birds, and even Florida panthers by taking away food from the endangered native Panther. Rescues are already over-crowded with unwanted pet snakes. It is not fun in any way to euthanize these creatures, but it is done to protect the many native species that do live in Big Cypress National Preserve.

Impressive find nonetheless.

Most pythons caught in the Everglades measure between six and 10 feet long. The state of Florida holds competitions encouraging hunters to remove as many of them as possible.

More from News

office cubicles
Paymo on Unsplash

Things Toxic Coworkers Did That Made The Whole Office Go Silent

Workplaces have professional standards to maintain, or at least they should. While it's great to have fun in the office, there are some things that are appropriate during leisure time that aren't OK at work.

But some people never seem to get the memo.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Screenshot of Andrew Schulz
Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Flagrant Podcast

Trump-Supporting Podcaster Andrew Schulz Turns On Trump In Mind-Numbing Rant

Conservative podcaster Andrew Schulz had social media users rolling their eyes after he criticized President Donald Trump, saying Trump is "doing the exact opposite" of everything he promised during his campaign, like stopping wars and shrinking spending.

Which begs the question: why tf did Schulz believe a word Trump said during his campaign, since he is a well-known serial liar and con man?

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @brigchicago's TikTok video
@brigchicago/TikTok

Plane Passengers Floored Over Flight Attendant's Suggestion While Stuck In 130 Degree Heat

Imagine being on time for your flight, only for takeoff to be delayed while the plane sits on the tarmac, with temperatures inside the plane cabin climbing to 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

Due to sweltering heat and complications, TikToker @brigchicago and her fellow passengers waited for their flight to take off. Whie the flight attendants did what they could to keep everyone calm and patient, some found their comments to be disingenuous.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @bencoffman1's TikTok video
@bencoffman1/TikTok

Pool Expert Reveals Why He'll Never Swim In A Public Pool In Eye-Opening TikTok

Now that summer is here and temperatures are at record-breaking highs, we're all looking for ways to have a good time while also feeling comfortable.

An easy option feels like going to a pool, either a community pool or a pool included in our apartment complex—but one pool expert has come forward to say that the "refreshing" cool of a public pool may not be worth it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @sundries.snark's TikTok video
@sundries.snark/TikTok

Bride's Outrageous Wedding Party Demands After She Changed Wedding Date Go Viral—And Yikes

It's no secret that wedding planning and fitting into a certain wedding aesthetic bring out the worst in some people.

But with the help of the "Wedding Shaming" subReddit and TikToker @sundries.snark, we may have uncovered one of the most atrocious and entitled wedding arrangements yet.

Keep ReadingShow less