COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — The largest Burmese python ever recorded in Florida was found in Naples by The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, stretching 18 feet in length and weighing in at 215 pounds.
It is the largest discovery to date and was found slithering its way through the Picayune Strand State Forest.
Officials with the group say it is the biggest female python they’ve encountered.
Ian Bartoszek is the Python Project manager and is part of the team in charge of capturing and studying these invasive pythons.
Bartoszek says it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.
The secret is a radio transmitter that’s placed inside a scout snake.
He says, “And the male pythons which we refer to as scout snakes lead us to these large reproductively active female pythons.”
The discovery highlights the continued impact the species has on the Everglades Ecosystem as it depletes native wildlife.
The Conservancy has removed over 1,000 adult pythons in Southwest Florida.
