WATCH: Florida Men Capture Massive 17-Foot, 200-Pound Python in Everglades
NAPLES, FLORIDA — Five Florida men caught a 17-foot, 200-pound python slithering across a sandy trail in the Everglades on Friday – the second largest ever recorded in the state.
As Holden Hunter, Trey Barber and Carter Gavlock drove back home from fishing in Big Cypress National Preserve, their headlights illuminated a massive snake crossing the road. The three men hopped out of their vehicle to get a closer look. They then decided to try capturing it.
Moments later, Michael Elfenbein and his son Cole drove up the same trail in a separate vehicle and saw Hunter, Barber and Gavlock wrestling the snake. All five men teamed up to subdue the beastly reptile.
Even with the strength and weight of five grown men on her, the powerful female python was still able to lift herself off the ground as she tried to escape.
“We all came across this giant snake in the road at the exact same time, and it was a good thing we did because it literally took all five of us to get her under control,” Elfenbein said.
The men brought the beast to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, which confirmed that the 197.9 pound female is the second-heaviest Burmese python in Florida history. Gavlock says he will mount the skull, and Hunter and Barber plan to preserve the skin at the tackle shop where they both work.
“It’s crazy that these things are all over Florida now but no one expects to see one this big,” Hunter wrote in his now viral Instagram post.
“We do love these animals – they’re a fantastic snake, you know, in captivity and done properly, they can be a super docile animal,” Gavlock told Fox News. “They’re just not supposed to be wild in the Everglades. They’re taking out a gross amount of animals out here that are native to the Glades.”
A THREAT TO ENDANGERED WILDLIFE
The invasive burmese pythons pose a grave threat to native wildlife in Florida. Pythons will eat almost anything, including natural predators in the Everglades like the endangered Florida panther. Fewer than 250 Florida panthers are left in the wild, according to Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Because Burmese pythons are an invasive species, the state allows them to be humanely killed year-round without a hunting license or permit. The average python is between 6 and 9 feet in length. Florida’s longest Burmese python on record – also captured at Big Cypress National Preserve – was more than 19 feet long, but weighed 125 pounds.
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FWC asks anyone who spots a Burmese python to note the location and report it to the FWC Exotic Species Hotline at 888-Ive-Got1 (888-483-4681).