Massive Burmese python caught slithering through swamps of South Florida
A 2013 estimate put the Burmese python population between 30,000 and 150,000 snakes in South Florida.
Florida's second-heaviest Burmese python captured in Big Cypress National Preserve
The snake measured in at more than 17 feet long and weighed nearly 200 pounds.
OCHOPEE, Fla. – A group of snake hunters in Florida say they stumbled upon one of the biggest Burmese pythons ever captured in the state, and the encounter was captured on video.
Mike Elfenbein was in Big Cypress National Preserve over the weekend when the takedown of the 17.2-foot-long, 198-pound monster took place.
According to Elfenbein, it was a group effort trying to keep the giant snake from escaping into the swamps of South Florida.
"I had her by the head. Her head was the size of a football," Elfenbein told FOX 35 News in Orlando. "My son grabbed her by the tail. And the other three guys all piled on in the middle. And with all five of us sitting on top of her, she was still literally able to lift her body off the ground and keep moving."
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While large, the snake was not the longest ever measured in the Sunshine State.
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida reports the largest snake ever caught measured 19 feet and weighed in at 125 pounds.
Elfenbein said his catch was large enough to place as the second heaviest and take top honors for his personal best.
Animals such as bobcats, deer, raccoons, rabbits and foxes are all popular foods for the snake, which largely live free from predators.
Second-heaviest Burmese python caught in Florida
(Holden Hunter/@holdenhunterr/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX / FOX Weather)
Burmese pythons aren't native to the Sunshine State, and the National Park Service believes the first spotting of the species was in 1979.
Biologists say the snake is native to Southeast Asia and has led to a dramatic decrease in populations of several native species.
In an effort to help eradicate the population, the state began an annual snake hunt in 2013, but only a few hundred snakes are captured yearly.
A 2013 estimate put the Burmese python population between 30,000 and 150,000 snakes in South Florida.