A man called the “Python Cowboy” killed an invasive snake in the Florida Everglades and made a stunning discovery inside, according to a Facebook post and photos.
Mike Kimmel and his python-sniffing dog Otto captured and euthanized a 16-foot burmese python that was pregnant with over 60 eggs, Kimmel said in a Facebook post Thursday.
Here’s one of the larger gravid pythons that Otto located for me this nesting season. She was nearly 16 feet long and…
Posted by Martin County Trapping & Wildlife Rescue on Thursday, July 6, 2023
“I could tell she was gravid with eggs before even opening her up by how fat the base of her tail was, also a clear indicator that they are ready to be laid,” Kimmel, who is known on social media as the “Python Cowboy,” told Newsweek. “I did not get an official weight on that snake but she was easily over 100lbs.” (RELATED: Wild Video Shows Record-Setting Python Caught In Florida)
Burmese pythons are a threat to the Everglades ecosystem, where they prey on birds, mammals and reptiles such as alligators, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). Females can lay anywhere from 50 up to 100 eggs at a time.
“A removal like this is absolutely crucial for our native wildlife in that ecosystem and WILL make a difference,” Kimmel said on Facebook. “A python this size can eat anything in the Everglades, as I’ve proven with the multiple adult alligators I’ve rescued from being eaten by pythons (3 separate times). These invasive snakes are now the top of the food chain… until man & dog intervene.”