A record-breaking 19-feet-long Burmese python has been killed in Dade County in South Florida.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a Miami man saw about 3 feet of the snake exposed out of the bush. While he was trying to drag it out into the street, the snake started to wrap itself around his leg. Calling his friends for help, a knife pierced the 128 pound python and killed it.
The exotic species coordination leader of the Florida Wildlife Commission, Kristen Sommers says, "Jason Leon's nighttime sighting and capture of a Burmese python of more than 18 feet in length is a notable accomplishment that set a Florida record. The FWC is grateful to him both for safely removing such a large Burmese python and for reporting its capture."
Reports say that the widespread Burmese python population in Florida was due to exotic pet owners releasing them into the wild in 1990s. The snake is native to the Southeast Asia, so it was uncommon before they were released into the wild. They have since exploded in population and there are now approximately 100,000 pythons in Florida. Jason Leon was also a previous Burmese python pet owner, so he knew how to handle the dangerous snake.
The Burmese Python is one of the largest snakes in the world, a subspecies of the Indian Python. They are often found near trees or water. An average Burmese Python is 12 feet long.
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