On the night of January 19, Turner and his wife found the giant python slithering around in the bushes at Big Cypress National Reserve in South Florida. The snake ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜᴇʀ from the Everglades Python Sɴᴀᴛᴄʜᴇʀs used his bare hands to ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ the 40kg python while his wife filmed the whole process.
“It’s exhilarating when you come across pythons, especially this big one. They’re powerful, and they all have their personalities. This python is a ꜰɪɢʜᴛᴇʀ,” Turner shared.
The Burmese python is one of the largest python species in the world. They are native to Southeast Asia.
Although classified as ᴠᴜʟɴᴇʀᴀʙʟᴇ in native habitat by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they are an ɪɴᴠᴀsɪᴠᴇ species in Florida and a ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛ to native wildlife direction.
Burmese python populations were first recorded in Florida in 2000. Experts believe they have ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴇᴅ pets or were ɪɴᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟʟʏ released by owners. Burmese pythons appear more and more common.
Even last week, a substantial female python crawled across the asphalt in the Everglades National Park in broad daylight.
Turner is a python ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ for the South Florida Water Authority. He has been ʜᴜɴᴛɪɴɢ this ɪɴᴠᴀsɪᴠᴇ reptile for four years. The python in the video is still ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ and has been handed over to state authorities for ᴇᴜᴛʜᴀɴᴀsɪᴀ, according to the American Veterinary Association. The ᴀᴜᴛᴏᴘsʏ will help researchers better understand Burmese pythons.
Watch the full video here :
