Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. It will stay at the facility under the Florida Wildlife Commission’s Class III License which permits legal possession of non-domesticated animals. “We are putting this girl on a diet, she’s already a meany so I’m sure she is gonna get even meaner when she’s hungry,” Taylor Stanberry wrote in a reply on Facebook. The snake, at risk in the wild because it cannot camouflage due to its lack of pigmentation, was taken to the couple's facility where they learned it was a female. “She is very defensive,” Rhett Stanburry said. The video shows Rhett Stanberry carefully pick up the big girl from her tail end and put her in a wheelbarrow. “He’s so fat he can’t get away,” Taylor Stanberry added. “That is the fattest boa constrictor I’ve ever seen.” “I almost didn’t think it was real,” Rhett Stanberry said in the YouTube video. "Well they contact us again the following day and sent a photo of a big white snake in their yard!" "Honestly we did not take it too seriously since people misidentify snakes all the time and since they hadn’t seen it in a couple hours, we did not go look for it," Taylor posted. Pythons, often brought to into Florida as pets and then abandoned in the wild by their owners, are invasive in Florida. Since 2000, more than 17,000 wild Burmese pythons have been removed from Florida – including more than 200 this year in as part of an annual contest. Floridas native snake species play important roles in the environment, serving as prey for many native birds and helping to regulate amphibian and rodent. "When we get there, we are greeted by this HUGE Albino (snow?) Boa Constrictor! This Boa was just as defensive as a wild Burmese Python, who knows how long it's been out there eating bunnies (and probably cats)." "You NEVER know what you will find in South Florida!" Rhett Stanbury posted on Facebook. In June, biologists captured the state’s largest-ever python – a female with a record 122 eggs and the remains of an adult white-tailed deer in her abdomen – at 215-pounds and nearly 18 feet long, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida reported.Watch Video: Big albino boa constrictor mistaken for a python in Florida backyardĪ couple of snake wranglers got a big surprise last week when they went to investigate a serpent slithering through a Florida homeowners backyard.Ī Naples homeowner originally contacted Rhett and Taylor Stanberry about a "huge python" in the backyard, according to the Stanberrys' social media accounts.īut when the couple got to the scene, they found something else in the grass: A 9-foot 5-inch long, 52.6 pound albino boa constrictor. When was the largest python ever caught in Florida? Pythons are tan in color with dark blotches and primarily live in and around the Everglades in south Florida, according to the commission.īurmese pythons in Florida are generally between 6 and 10 feet long, although they can grow over 20 feet. FLORIDA SNAKES From Harmless To Not Eastern coral snake Southern copperhead Cottonmouth Eastern diamondback rattlesnake Timber rattlesnake Dusky pygmy. The longest python grand prize is worth $1,500. The first-place winner for the most pythons receives a $2,500 cash prize. What are the Florida Python Challenge prize amounts? Here are some of the top pictures from the event over the years. The challenge is a conservation effort aimed at raising public awareness ofthe threat pythons pose to the ecosystem.Īside from bragging rights, the person who kills the most pythons or kills the longest python can win a range of substantial cash prizes (more on that below). The commission says hunters may catch and humanely kill Burmese pythons at the time of capture during the 10-day competition, which begins Friday. Studies have shown pythons wiped out rabbit and fox populations in regions of Everglades National Park. The coloring is an effective camouflage in the jungles and forests of South and Central America, where this. These patterns become more pronounced near the tail, as in the case of the red-tailed boa. Generally, they are a brown, grey, or cream color with red and brown patterns. The nonvenomous Burmese python poses a threat to Florida’s native wildlife and is larger than almost all native snakes, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Boa constrictors come in a variety of colors. Hunters, enthusiasts, experts and spectators will descend upon the Everglades and embark on the Florida Python Challenge – an annual event to curb the invasive Burmese python.
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