Exploding Burms in the Everglades :)

Oct 5, 4:04 PM EDT

Python Bursts After Trying to Eat Gator

By DENISE KALETTE
Associated Press Writer





MIAMI (AP) -- The alligator has some foreign competition at the top of the Everglades food chain, and the results of the struggle are horror-movie messy.

A 13-foot Burmese python recently burst after it apparently tried to swallow a live, six-foot alligator whole, authorities said.

The incident has heightened biologists' fears that the nonnative snakes could threaten a host of other animal species in the Everglades.

"It means nothing in the Everglades is safe from pythons, a top-down predator," said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor.

Over the years, many pythons have been abandoned in the Everglades by pet owners.

The gory evidence of the latest gator-python encounter - the fourth documented in the past three years - was discovered and photographed last week by a helicopter pilot and wildlife researcher.

The snake was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Mazzotti said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it.

In previous incidents, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw

"There had been some hope that alligators can control Burmese pythons," Mazzotti said. "This indicates to me it's going to be an even draw. Sometimes alligators are going to win and sometimes the python will win."

It is unknown how many pythons are competing with the thousands of alligators in the Everglades, but at least 150 have been captured in the past two years, said Joe Wasilewski, a wildlife biologist and crocodile tracker.

Pythons could threaten many smaller species that conservationists are trying to protect, including other reptiles, otters, squirrels, woodstorks and sparrows, Mazzotti said.

Wasilewski said a 10- or 20-foot python also could pose a risk to an unwary human, especially a child. He added, however, "I don't think this is an imminent threat. This is not a `Be afraid, be very afraid' situation.'"

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Stephen Emerick
Napa Valley Snakes

where is a camra man when you need him

Picture:

Yea. But is this for real?

It is real enough for Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,171358,00.html

It was on CNN, MSNBC, AP......

They had it on all the channels. The reporter says they are filming a special about the burms for TV due out in December.

Originally Posted by napavalleysnakes

A 13-foot Burmese python recently burst after it apparently tried to swallow a live, six-foot alligator whole, authorities said.

The snake was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Mazzotti said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it.

Has anyone noticed the inconsistency in this article? The only thing I've seen a snake swallow live was a pinky or a fuzzy rat/mouse and even they put up a small fight.

This snake would not have even tried to eat the alligator while it was still alive. It would have taken the snake 30 minutes or longer to swallow the alligator. And the alligator would not simply lie there and let the snake eat it. That alligator could not have been alive while the snake was eating it and, therefore, did not "claw the python's stomach" as stated in the article. That whole article is suspicious. A more likely scenario is this: The snake ate the alligator and then died right afterwards, swelled up and then burst.

All this article does is invoke fear in the snake-hating public. Everyone already knew about all the exotics loose in the Everglades. I believe that it's going to continue to balloon into an ecological nightmare in the future as all the different exotic animals continue to breed and build up their populations.

One more thing: This is scary: Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor. He is a wildlife professor at the University of Florida and believes that the snake ate the 'gator while it was still alive. Pathetic.