It is one of the biggest pythons ever caught in southern Florida, according to a post on the Facebook page of the Big Cypress National Preserve. The researchers found the enormous reptile by using male pythons fitted with radio transmitters, allowing them to track the male and locate breeding females, according to the post. The reptiles have no natural predators in Florida and multiply rapidly, posing “significant threats to native wildlife,” the researchers said. With anywhere from 30,000 to 300,000 pythons now in southern Florida, the US Interior Department banned their importation in 2012. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has sponsored hunting programs to target the reptiles.

Source: The Express Tribune April 08, 2019 06:33 UTC