'Truly primal': Burmese python swallow deer whole in Florida Everglades

'Truly primal': Watch Burmese python swallow deer whole in Florida Everglades by stretching its mouth to the absolute limit

An invasive Burmese python in the Everglades was spotted eating a white-tailed deer around 67% of its mass by stretching its mouth to almost the maximum width of what is physically possible.


(Image credit: Ian Bartoszek, Conservancy of Southwest Florida.)
Female Burmese python measuring 14.8’ (4.5m) and weighing 115.2 lbs (52.3 kg) consuming a white-tailed deer weighing 76.9 lbs (34.9 kg) in southwestern Florida

A huge Burmese python has been found swallowing a deer whole in Florida's Everglades. The impressive feat challenges what gape models suggest the invasive snakes are physically capable of. "It felt like we were literally catching the serial killer in the act and it was intense to observe [in] real time," Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist and science coordinator at the conservation organization Conservancy of Southwest Florida, told Live Science in an email.

The female Burmese python (Python bivittatus) measured 14.8 feet (4.5 meters) long and weighed 115 pounds (52 kilograms). It was discovered feasting on a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that weighed 76.9 pounds (35 kg) — almost 67% of the snake's mass. To devour the deer, the snake's mouth stretched so wide it reached 93% of its maximum gape, according to a study published Aug. 22 in the journal Reptiles & Amphibians.

"This was the most intense and impressive sight we have observed in 12 years of tracking pythons in southwestern Florida," Bartoszek, one of the study authors, said. "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." Burmese pythons are an invasive species in the Everglades and were introduced at some point in the mid to late 20th century. The first sighting was in 1979, and by the 1990s they had gained a stronghold, feasting on native species while having no natural predators to control their population. While the current population size is unknown, experts estimate there could be hundreds of thousands in Florida. Over the last few decades, Burmese pythons have decimated local ecosystems, wiping out several mammal species.

Burmese pythons are known to eat deer and even alligators, but finding the predators in the act is challenging, limiting how much scientists know about what these apex predators are capable of eating, and therefore how much of an impact they're having on the ecosystem. According to the study, the previously assumed maximum gape for a Burmese python (the width it can open its jaws) was around 8.6 inches (22 centimeters). However, the researchers examined three of these snakes — including the 14.8 foot python — and found they had a maximum gape of 10.2 inches (26 cm). The discovery has "significantly affected" models showing what Burmese pythons are physically capable of swallowing, the researchers wrote.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/snakes/truly-primal-watch-burmese-python-swallow-deer-whole-in-florida-everglades-by-stretching-its-mouth-to-the-absolute-limit


Whoever thought it was a good idea to turn these things loose in the swamps needs to be whacked.