Alison Joslyn was cycling in the Shark Valley in Everglades, Florida when she spotted an alligator killing a massive python. She shared photos and a video of this wild fight on the social networking site which promptly went viral. Both alligators and pythons are found aplenty in Florida. While alligators are endemic to Florida, the Burmese python is an invasive species that was first introduced to the area via the pet trade in the 1970s. The Burmese pythons are blamed for severe biodiversity loss in South Florida’s wetlands. It is legal to euthanize them in the state for the sake of protecting the local species and de-escalating the rising population of Burmese pythons.
In the caption, Joslyn wrote, “Came across this unusual sight today while cycling Shark Valley in the Everglades. That’s one less python to terrorize the Everglades. Gator was quite lethargic and I was wondering if it might be the cold, he was tired from fighting the snake, maybe got bit by the snake, started swallowing the snake and had to stop because it was too big? Other thoughts?”
She added, “Postscript: I should probably add a postscript that when I was thinking a bite could be an issue, I was aware they aren’t venomous, but as the gator had the head of the snake in his mouth or down his throat I wondered if the snake could have done damage to those soft tissues as it was fighting for its life.”
Commenting on the post, a Facebook user wrote, “Love to see this! He gets an exotic meal and helps the environment all in one! Lol.” Another mentioned, “Sad though as the snake is not at fault for being tossed out in the wild.the owners who bought the reptile should be held accountable.”
A user explained how Burmese pythons are detrimental to Florida’s natural ecosystem and asserted, “These snakes are terrible. They kill all our native wildlife. They kill babies and so animals aren’t even having a chance to make it anymore..it’s awful. They are starting to put trackers on the females and they go to their nests and have been able to get hundreds of python eggs and kill them all and the female. But there are so many. It’s going to take decades to kill them all. It’s got to be done though.”ver
Comments
0 comment