This python is a MONSTER. But that’s not all they found…
The 130-pound, nearly 17-foot long snake was female, and they found eggs.
A LOT of eggs.
A python hunter captured an almost 17-foot long snake using just his bare hands.
Dusty ‘The Wildman’ Crum managed to wrestle the creature while traipsing through the Florida Everglades.
It’s the biggest python that’s ever been caught in the national park.
Later, it was discovered that the snake had 78 eggs inside – which were taken out to prevent any new snakes from being born.
Of his catch, Crum described it as ‘like Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan, WrestleMania!’
A typical female python breeds every other year producing 20 to 50 eggs. Pythons can live for more than 20 years.
Crum is expecting a big payday for his efforts.
And he caught the snake bare-handed.
He is part of an effort to eradicate pythons in the Everglades that started two months ago by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).
The snakes are an invasive species that are threatening the ecosystem. They target raccoons, birds, and even alligators. Researchers believe that there are between 30,000 and 300,000 pythons in the Everglades, with the population only growing.
SFWMD is paying hunters like him $8.10 per hour – with incentives.
Depending on the size of the snake they capture, there is an additional on-the-spot payment of $50 for pythons measuring up to four feet long and an extra $25 for each foot measuring more than four feet.
Crum’s massive catch, however, netted him $375 – the same amount it would cost to sell the skin…
…Hunters are given an additional $100 for each eliminated python found guarding nests with eggs and, in the case of this one, there were 78 eggs found.
Read more: Daily Mail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8xggl6YBWA
The snake removal program has been running for 48 days and 78 snakes have been removed.
Think of it — this one snake alone would have replaced all of the removed pythons if it hadn’t been captured.
