500-pound ball of pythons found in Florida marsh

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A team of trackers found 500 pounds of snake in a South Florida marsh last month, according to the Miami Herald.

The report said the discovery happened on Feb. 21 on public land in Naples when officials discovered a 7-foot wide mound of 11 pythons.

The team closely monitors snakes during breeding seasons and uses active searching and telemetry to remove the invasive species before the females have a chance to lay their eggs.

“For 10 years, we’ve been catching and putting them [Burmese pythons] down humanely. You can’t put them in zoos and send them back to Southeast Asia. Invasive species management doesn’t end with rainbows and kittens,” Conservancy Biologist Ian Bartoszek said. “These are remarkable creatures, here through no fault of their own. They are impressive animals, good at what they do.”

Conservancy wildlife biologist Ian Bartoszek with a large mating ball of pythons captured in southwest Florida (Credit: Conservancy of Southwest Florida)

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida focuses on the research and removal of critical invasive species, and to understand their behavior and ecological impact, according to their website.

Since 2013, the team has captured and removed more than 34,000 pounds of python from the region.

The Burmese python can grow up to 19 feet long, making them one of the largest snakes in the world. In the 1970s, hundreds of these snakes were brought to Florida from their native habitat of Southeast Asia through a pet trade.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida said these pythons are now an established predator in the Everglades and are responsible for the 90% decline in mammal populations in that area.