A 22-year-old captured the longest documented Burmese python caught in Florida.
The creepy-crawling critter was snagged by Jake Waleri in the Big Cypress National Preserve near Naples Monday night. Waleri and pal Steven Gauta took the snake to Conservancy of Southwest Florida to be officially measured and examined and the Conversancy’s python team concluded it was indeed 19 feet and weighed 125 pounds.
The video was shared by a 22-year-old student on Instagram who called the catch a dream come true. The clip shows the snake, close to the length of an adult giraffe, pouncing while attempting an escape from the scene. It lifts towards Waleri as he drags it forcibly down the road by its tail. Minutes pass with the duo wrestling on the road before several others join in to accomplish the mission. The python was caught in Eastern Collier County’s Big Cypress National Preserve.
The 22-year-old boy said that although it was a "dream" to capture the reptile, the whole incident was "chaotic" given its "insane" size. "I knew we were capable of it, but I didn't know it would happen. Last year my cousin and I caught a snake that was almost 18 feet long, and we realised we could handle a snake of that size," he told USA Today. He continued, "At first I just held onto the tail for dear life. And then one of my friends took a net and tried to pin its head down, and we quickly realised that was not a winning strategy. It's the only snake that's scared me so much that I didn't know what to do."
South Florida now has the two longest Burmese pythons on record. Prior to this catch, the largest Burmese python caught in Florida was in October 2020 35 miles west of Miami, and measured at 18 feet and 9 inches. Burmese pythons have left an indelible mark south of Lake Okeechobee since they first made their appearance decades ago. The beasts have been known to wreak havoc on local wildlife and as per scientists they have led to the extinction of most fur-bearing animals in the historic Everglades.
