Man Wrestles, Kills 18-Foot Burmese Python in Florida

A Florida man wrestled with, and eventually killed, an 18-foot Burmese python in a rural area of Miami-Dade County in May 2013.

The Incident

It was reported that Jason Leon saw about three feet of the snake protruding from the brush alongside the road on which he was driving on May 11, 2013. He stopped his car and grabbed the snake behind the head in an attempt to pull it from the brush. The python then began wrapping itself around the man’s leg. A friend of Leon’s came to assist, and they were able to kill the snake with a knife.

The python was examined by University of Florida scientists at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center who reported its size to be 18-feet 8-inches and 128 pounds. It is the longest recorded Burmese python captured in Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) describes the Burmese python as “an invasive species that has negative impacts on the Everglades ecosystem and its native wildlife.”

The FWC posted photos to Flickr and Facebook.

Although some have complained about the killing of the creature, the FWC has publicly thanked Leon for his actions:

“The FWC is grateful to him both for safely removing such a large Burmese python and for reporting its capture…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.”

Your Turn

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Source
Record-setting Burmese python captured in Miami-Dade Co. (Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission)