Python Caught In South Florida Sets New Record
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Florida -- A Miami man has caught and killed the longest Burmese python ever captured in the wild in Florida. The snake measured 18 feet, 8 inches which was more than a foot longer than the previous record of 17 feet, 7 inches. The python was a 128-pound
female that was not carrying eggs, according to University of Florida
scientists who examined the snake.
On May 11, Jason Leon was riding late at night in a rural area of
southeast Miami-Dade County when he and his passenger spotted the
python. About 3 feet of the snake was sticking out of the roadside
brush. Leon stopped his car, grabbed the snake behind its head and
started dragging it out of the brush. When the snake began to wrap
itself around his leg, he called for assistance from others and then
used a knife to kill the snake. Leon once owned Burmese pythons as pets
and has experience handling this nonvenomous constrictor species.
“Jason Leon’s nighttime sighting and capture of a Burmese python of
more than 18 feet in length is a notable accomplishment that set a
Florida record. The FWC is grateful to him both for safely removing such
a large Burmese python and for reporting its capture,” said Kristen
Sommers, Exotic Species Coordination Section Leader for the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Leon reported his python capture to the FWC’s South Region office,
which connected him with 888-IveGot1 (888-483-4861), the FWC’s hotline
for reporting exotic species. The python was later turned over to the
University of Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center,
where UF staff experienced in working with Burmese pythons performed the
necropsy.
“With the help of people like Mr. Leon and our ongoing partnerships
with other agencies, the FWC is advancing what we know about Burmese
pythons in Florida,” Sommers said. “This event highlights how the Exotic
Species hotline allows the public to help us obtain more information
about Burmese pythons, so we can improve management of this invasive
species. It also reflects the cooperative efforts of the FWC and its
partners to address python sightings by the public.”
The public is asked to report sightings of exotic species to IveGot1.org or 888-IveGot1. There is also a free smartphone app: IVEGOT1.
PHOTO CREDIT: IFAS/UF
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