An 18-foot, 4-inch python becomes one of largest ever captured in Florida – via Herp Digest

10/6/19 NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

This massive snake was caught by the Python Action Team of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission last month. (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)

That’s a big snake.

Wildlife conservation officials in Florida caught a massive Burmese python that measures in at a whopping 18 feet and 4 inches.

The serpent, which weighs 98 pounds, was captured on Sept. 22 by the Python Action Team of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the organization said in an announcement.

The adult female was caught in the Big Cypress National Preserve.

The snake is the biggest of the 900 Burmese pythons that have been removed from the wild by the FWC, and the biggest to be captured in Big Cypress, the organization said.

the animal, illustrating just how big it is.

"Removing 900 pythons is a great milestone for our Python Action Team!” said Eric Sutton, the group’s executive director. “These snakes coupled with the thousands removed by our partners at the National Park Service and the South Florida Water Management District make a significant impact to protect Florida’s native wildlife.”

The organization says it is important to remove such animals from nature because adult females can be responsible for an additional 30 to 60 hatchlings, which pose a threat to other animals.

The more-than-18-foot python captured last month is the second largest to be caught in Florida. The biggest was only 4 inches larger, the FWC said.