Scientists in Florida shared a remarkable moment this week: a Burmese python swallowing a 77-pound white-tailed deer whole.
The video, recorded by wildlife biologist Ian Bartoszek of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida while scientists were tracking pythons in the Florida Everglades, shows the 14.8-foot, 115-pound female python mid-meal with the deer in its unhinged jaw.
“It felt like we were literally catching the serial killer in the act, and it was intense to observe [in] real time,” Bartoszek told Life Science.
Per CBS News, Bartoszek said the species is known for eating most things “furry and feathery” and that it is “easier to say what they don’t eat” when describing their diet.
As one of three authors of a study published in the Reptiles & Amphibians journal in August, Bartoszek helped explore what a Burmese python is believed to be capable of consuming. The study involved scientists examining three snakes and finding that the species can have a maximum gape (or the width it can open its jaws) of 10.2 inches—a more significant number than the previously understood 8.6 inches.
“This was the most intense and impressive sight we have observed in 12 years of tracking pythons in southwestern Florida,” Bartoszek told Life Science. “It was truly primal and felt like a scene that had been playing out for millions of years wherever you have large snakes.”
“Unfortunately, our native wildlife in Florida have not evolved with this apex predator, and you are seeing that result with these images,” he added.
Catching Burmese pythons — an invasive species in Floridas known to eat alligators and deer — in the act of eating is often difficult. Still, Bartoszek, alongside Ian Easterling of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and Bruce Jayne of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, managed to capture the act on camera and measured “the greatest maximum gape recorded in Burmese pythons to date,” according to the conservancy’s website.
The study notes that the deer consumed by the python in the clip was 66.9% of the snake’s mass.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Per the conservancy, knowing the limitations of what the snakes can consume can also help “predict the ecological impact the invasive snakes might have as they move into new areas.”
“Besides the large absolute size of the deer that was eaten being impressive, our anatomical measurements indicate this deer was very near the size limit on the prey that could be consumed by this snake,” Jayne said. “Hence, these snakes resemble overachievers by sometimes testing the limits of what their anatomy allows rather than being slackers that eat only ‘snack size’ prey.”
Ian Bartoszek, Conservancy of Southwest Florida
The conservancy’s Burmese Python Research and Removal team has reportedly removed 77,000 invasive adult pythons over the last 12 years.
“We have been removing pythons and advancing invasive snake science for over a decade. These animals continue to impress us each season, and one thing we’ve learned for certain is not to underestimate the Burmese python,” Bartoszek said.
Per Life Science, a male python named Ronin helped scientists locate the buck-eating snake thanks to a tracking device that ultimately led them to females. The snakes were then removed to control the population. As Bartoszek shared, the pythons were “humanely euthanized” before they had the opportunity to lay eggs.
“We have a lot of respect for the Burmese python and they are here through no fault of their own,” he said. “However, we understand the impact they are having on native wildlife and are not sitting on the sidelines.”
Read the full article here
