Record-breaking python nest containing 111 eggs removed from Florida Everglades
A female Burmese python can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time. More than 16,000 Burmese pythons have been removed from the state since 2000.
Invasive pythons eating through the Everglades
Burmese pythons were introduced to the U.S. as pets initially. They devour native animals and have very few predators. One airboat tour owner said that he rarely sees mammals across the Everglades after the python population explosions.
EVERGLADES, Fla. – A record-breaking 111 python eggs were removed from a nest in the sensitive Florida Everglades ecosystem.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the clutch from the large invasive Burmese python was removed by Brandon Rahe.
"That number makes it the largest active nest ever found by a wild caught python," Rahe said in an Instagram post. "I’m lucky enough to have found 2 active nests so far, helping to remove future generations of monster snakes where they don’t belong."
He documented the discovery in a video on his YouTube page. Watch as the action unfolds in the video below:
Rahe was part of the state's Python Action Team Removing Invasive Constrictors (PATRIC) program which helps remove the nonnative snakes year-round.
Wildlife officials said the previous record was 96 eggs found in 2022 in a free-range Burmese python nest in Big Cypress.
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Snake photo courtesy of Brandon Rahe. Inset photo of the invasive python eggs courtesy of University of Florida.
(Brandon Rahe, University of Florida)
Rahe said the snake is being released back into the wild as part of the telemetry program through the University of Florida and FWC to track movement patterns and mating habits.
"She’ll be picked back up in due time once her study time is over," he added.
A female Burmese python can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time. The large reproductive capacity is one reason why the reptile has been so successful as an invasive species in the state. More than 16,000 Burmese pythons have been removed from Florida since 2000.
"Burmese pythons negatively impact the Everglades ecosystem by preying upon and competing with native wildlife," the agency said. "The removal of this python and the 111 unhatched eggs helps to prevent future negative impacts to our native wildlife."
The state said Burmese pythons and other nonnative reptiles can be humanely killed on private lands at any time with landowner permission, as well as on 32 commission-managed lands year-round.