The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Monday that a nearly 18-foot-long snake was found in the Big Cypress National Preserve and removed.
In a Facebook post, the group highlighted a member of the Python Action Team for catching the animal.
And if you're thinking that's a really, really long reptile — you are correct. The female snake was 17 feet 9 inches long and weighed 83 pounds. Just take a look! That's a certified Long Boy:
This is the second-largest snake the Python Action Team has caught.
Read more: A 17-foot-long python was found in Florida
The FWC clarified in a Facebook comment that the largest-ever catch came in December 2018 when the team caught an 18-foot-long female snake that weighed 147 pounds. Before that, the longest find was an 18-foot-8-inches long female snake that weighed 128 pounds, caught in 2013.
Burmese pythons are considered an invasive species in Florida. The snake, described as a "large nonvenomous constrictor," can primarily be found in Florida's Everglades. The FWC said the animals are a threat to the ecosystem. As such, the commission is working to "manage" the animals.
Read more: A woman staying in a Tennessee hotel woke up and found a snake on her arm
Earlier in August, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an annual "Python Challenge" during which hunters are encouraged to kill the animals in the Everglades, as they threaten mammals, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
"They're not native to this area and they're an incredibly invasive species," the governor said. "As these pythons have permeated through, they've really disrupted the natural food chain balance, they've threatened endangered species, they've decimated other animal populations. They can eat small alligators even. So they've been multiplying. We've been advancing python management policies for several years. There's been some success but we need to do more, and so we are here to announce some of the next steps we are taking."
- Read more:
- An 18-foot-long snake escaped captivity and climbed onto a roof, scaring neighbors
- A snake struggled to escape from an alligator's jaw — and the pictures are amazing
- A man was bitten in the face by a snake, and the horrifying moment was captured on a doorbell cam
- A child is 'totally unfazed' after being bitten by a 5-foot-long snake that crawled into his home
