Florida trappers capture record-setting python in Everglades

SCI-TECH

Florida trappers capture record-setting python in Everglades

The Associated Press Published Sunday, October 6, 2019 12:36PM EDT

In this Sept. 22, 2019 photo from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida trappers Jonathan Lopez, left, and Cynthia Downer pose with a record-setting python they captured at the Big Cypress National Preserve, west of Miami, Fla. (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission via AP)

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BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE, Fla. -- Officials say Florida trappers have captured a record-setting python as part of a growing effort that encourages hunters to remove the invasive snakes from the Everglades.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the 18-foot, 4-inch-long (5.58 metres) female python weighed 98 pounds and 10 ounces (45 kilograms). says it was the largest snake captured by the new Python Action Team and the largest ever captured at the Big Cypress National Preserve, west of Miami.

The agency says it is the second-largest python ever caught in the wild in Florida. The commission says hunting female Burmese pythons is critical because they add between 30 and 60 hatchlings each time they breed.