When I was a kid, I always thought that massive, 20-foot long snakes only existed in the Amazon jungle. But nope… you can just drive on down to Florida and catch a peak at one yourself if you’re lucky (or unlucky, depending on if you’re a snake person or not).
Burmese pythons have become a serious problem in the Sunshine State, ever since they were introduced to the state in the 1970s during the exotic pet trade, particularly in the Everglades and the southern half of Florida.
In fact, the species has no natural predators and has become so invasive, that state wildlife officials are literally encouraging snake hunters to kill as many as possible. With that being said, this group of snake hunters took down one of the biggest Burmese pythons I’ve ever seen.
It all went down this past weekend at the Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida, when a group of python hunters wrangled up a MASSIVE 17-foot long, near 200 pound python, which is the second largest ever killed in the state.
Conservationist Mike Elfenbein told Fox 35:
“Her head was the size of a football.”
Elfenbein and his son, Cole, met three other men who were searching for Burmese pythons as well.
He recalled:
“We all came across this giant snake in the road at the exact same time.”
He said it was so big, that they initially thought it was an alligator at first. That’s when all five of the hunters went to work:
“I had her by the head. My son grabbed her by the tail. And the other three guys all piled on in the middle. And with all five of us sitting on top of her, she was still literally able to lift her body off the ground and keep moving.
It was crazy. It was crazy.”
Elfenbein said their intent was not to become famed snake hunters, but to help the state of Florida with the ever increasing Burmese python population.
He continued:
“I’m not looking to compete with anybody. I’m not a contractor. I’m just a guy trying to do some good.”
Needless to say, this was a snake hunt that Elfenbein, his son, and the three other gentlemen will never forget. I also love how this dude is dressed in a khakis shorts and a checkered button up… like he’s going out to lunch after Sunday service… incredible.
