Awry Video Shows Invasive Python Ingesting A 77-Pound Deer Whole, As Shared By Scientists

"It felt like we were literally catching the serial killer in the act"

Maryjane

• Published in Animals
• October 29, 2024

Scientists in Florida reported an intense sight: a Burmese Python completely ingesting a 77-pound white-tailed deer. The 14.8-foot, 115-pound female python is shown mid-meal with the deer in her unhinged mouth in the video.

It was captured by wildlife biologist Ian Bartoszek of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida as researchers were monitoring pythons in the Florida Everglades. "It felt like we were literally catching the serial killer in the act, and it was intense to observe [in] real time," Bartoszek told Life Science.

Bartoszek told CBS News that the species is known to eat a lot of "furry and feathery" things and that it is "easier to say what they don't eat" when discussing their diet. Bartoszek contributed to the investigation of what a Burmese python is thought to be able to eat as one of three authors of a paper that was published in the journal Reptiles & Amphibians.

In the study, scientists examined three snakes and discovered that the species' maximum gape, or the breadth at which its jaws can open, is 10.2 inches. This is more than the 8.6 inches that was previously thought to be the maximum.

This was the most intense and impressive sight we have observed in 12 years of tracking pythons in southwestern Florida," Bartoszek told Life Science.

Here's a picture of the scenario

"It was truly primal and felt like a scene that had been playing out for millions of years wherever you have large snakes. Unfortunately, our native wildlife in Florida have not evolved with this apex predator, and you are seeing that result with these images," he added.

It can be challenging to capture Burmese pythons, an invasive species in Florida that is known to consume deer and alligators when they are eating. Nevertheless, Bartoszek was able to film the act on camera with Ian Easterling of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and Bruce Jayne of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio.

They measured "the greatest maximum gape recorded in Burmese pythons to date," according to the website of the conservancy.

According to the study, 66.9% of the python's mass was made up of the deer it ate in the footage

The conservancy claims that understanding the snakes' dietary restrictions has the potential to "predict the ecological impact the invasive snakes might have as they move into new areas."

"Besides the large absolute size of the deer that was eaten being impressive, our anatomical measurements indicate this deer was very near the size limit on the prey that could be consumed by this snake," Jayne said.

"Hence, these snakes resemble overachievers by sometimes testing the limits of what their anatomy allows rather than being slackers that eat only 'snack size' prey."

Over the past 12 years, the Burmese Python Research and Removal team at the conservancy is said to have eradicated 77,000 invasive adult pythons.

Check out the video below

"We have been removing pythons and advancing invasive snake science for over a decade. These animals continue to impress us each season, and one thing we've learned for certain is not to underestimate the Burmese python," Bartoszek said.

According to Life Science, a tracking gadget used by a male Python named Ronin helped researchers find the buck-eating snake, which in turn helped them find females. After that, the snakes were taken out to manage the population.

The Pythons were "humanely euthanized" before they could lay eggs, Bartoszek revealed. "We have a lot of respect for the Burmese python and they are here through no fault of their own," he said.

"However, we understand the impact they are having on native wildlife and are not sitting on the sidelines."

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Maryjane