That is two dangerous animals.
The battle of all battles. One of the most dangerous, non-venomous snakes in North America and one of the most elusive animals, in the form of its rarest sub-species.
The Florida panther is a subspecies of the North American cougar. This majestic wild cat is native to the southern region of Florida and is one of the most endangered mammals in the world.
The Florida panther is a medium-sized cat, with males typically weighing between 120-160 pounds. They are generally 7-8 feet in length, including their tail, and very territorial animals who require large areas of habitat to roam. Spanning up to 200 square miles of home range, they prefer habitats that includes wetlands, forests and swamps.
Florida panthers are carnivorous predators and primarily feed on white-tailed deer, wild hogs, raccoons, and armadillos. They are also known to hunt smaller animals, such as rabbits and squirrels, and will occasionally feed on livestock in areas where it makes sense. Florida panthers are solitary hunters and patiently wait as they stalk their prey for the perfect striking moment.
Pythons are not native to Florida but have become a major problem as they take over the Everglades. The Burmese python is one of the most common species found in the Everglades and can grow up to 23 feet in length and weigh up to 200 pounds. The presence of pythons in the Everglades has had a devastating impact on the local wildlife, including the Florida panther.
Pythons are voracious predators and will feed on a variety of animals, including small mammals, birds and reptiles. Their presence in the Everglades has resulted in a significant decline in the population of prey species, which has impacted the Florida panther.
This video shows the inevitable encounter between a Florida panther and python.
The two meet and the cougar is highly intrigued by the large snake. The panther is seen towering over the snake, that could be large enough to take out the cat.
Both size each other up, but both decide that there is other prey for them to target and that the risk is two large with these two vicious predators fighting.
Researchers Find Whole Alligator Inside Burmese Python
These pythons are crazy. Eating whole gators and just taking everything over.
Pythons in Florida are a problem, rather, a massive problem. These beasts have completely taken over the everglades to the point there’s hardly any prey left. They are fast and effective predators that have nothing hunting them out there.
Because they are not natural to the area, this makes them invasive, meaning they outcompete and damage the ecosystem.
These pythons can be well over 20 feet long, and they utilize their massive size to constrict then eat their prey whole. And Alligators will do.
These beasts can weigh over 1,000 pounds and measure up to 12 feet long so more than enough food for a big snake. If the pythons are willing to try those prehistoric looking beasts, they will certainly get a good meal out of it.
These researchers are seen cutting open an 18-foot python captured in Florida, and the snake has a curiously large bulge in its belly. Clearly, something is in there. The researchers cut it open and find a whole 5-foot long alligator inside the snake.
That’s one wild predator to take out a gator like that…
They summed up what was going on best in the post:
“The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world (up to 20+ft). This particular python was roughly 18 ft, and had consumed a 5ft alligator.
*Burmese pythons are required to be euthanized in Florida. This python was euthanized by those who found it, and turned over to a research lab for necropsy and scientific sample collection. That process is shown in this video.
Due to the the subtropical environment of South Florida, paired with the Burmese pythons long life span and rapid reproduction, these snakes have successfully invaded ecologically sensitive areas such as Everglades National Park.
This poses a threat to a variety of wildlife, due to the pythons wide dietary preferences.”
Yeesh…
Alligator Drags Away Monster Python In The Florida Everglades
As somebody who is absolutely mortified of snakes, even this video gives me cold chills.
However, where I come from, the worst snakes we have to worry about are typically copperheads, but black snakes and king snakes are the most common in my area. And thankfully, they’re pretty harmless…
So needless to say, it’s hard for me to imagine living in a swampy area, and possibly running into a massive python.
Apparently these sightings are not uncommon in South Florida, as Everglades City resident Carl Nicholson caught some WILD footage of an alligator dragging away a huge python.
According to Outdoor Life, Nicholson says the incident happened at the 29 Canal in South Florida, where alligator and python sightings are all too familiar.
You can hear him say in the footage:
“That’s a big gator and he can’t even take it down. He’s trying.”
We’re talking about two fierce predators, and these types of gator/python encounters have been pretty common in the South Florida area.
Part 1:
Although alligators have long ruled the murky waters of Florida, Burmese pythons have recently found themselves right up there with the gators as top predators in the Sunshine State.
The outlet notes that there is an estimated population of 30,000, to 300,000 of pythons in the state of Florida, and they feed off a number of rabbits, deer, turtles, raccoons, possums, birds, and just about anything else they can take in.
Burmese pythons range from 10-16 feet in length, and are some of the strongest snakes imaginable.
Needless to say, the alligator had his work cut out for him in this one.
Part 2:
Snake Turns The Tables On Attacking Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-tailed hawks will eat just about any smaller animal that they can get their talons into. They are a fierce predator that uses their bird’s eye view and speed to its advantage, attacking prey by surprise from above.
They usually perch up or fly high above and open area, using their hawk eyes to zero in on prey. They have vision up to 10-times better than humans and are known to be one of the smartest birds in North America.
Snakes are one of their favorite meals, and if you’ve spent anytime in farm country with high hawk populations, odds are that you have seen one flying away with a snake.
This hawk was just doing what hawks do, hunting for another meal… but the prey he had in mind had much different plans.
After launching an attack on the snake, the snake manages to wrap up the hawk and suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted.
A couple of men came across the incident and tried to help the hawk out. They got a video of them unraveling the snake from the hawk and trying to pull it off as the hawk is now fighting for its life.
One mans pulls on the snake, which is huge, as it bites on the hawk’s leg not letting go.
The hawk flaps around trying to get free but the snake wants its revenge.
Finally, the snake lets go and the hawk is immediately out of there.
Both the hawk and the snake will live to fight another day.
Never a dull moment over at @WhiskeyRiff
Rooster Fights Off An Hawk In Missouri Backyard
A rooster is the king of the coop, and there’s a reason why there’s only one in a crowd.
They like having all of those hens around them to themselves.
Naturally, that can cause them to have some aggression toward anything that tries to take his girls away from him.
That is showcased perfectly in this video. Usually, it’s a rooster fighting another rooster, or maybe an angry one taking a run at a person. This one though, he decided he would fight a hawk to protect his crew.
The coopers hawk swoops into a backyard in Kansas City, Missouri, to get ahold of some hens. The rooster immediately goes to work and makes himself as large as possible charging the hawk. The hawk dodges it and gets chased up off the ground.
It thinks for a second then goes after a hen again. You can see feathers start to fly but in comes this rooster again. He chases the hawk down and gets him pinned down as he sends a flurry of kicks at it.
I guess it was enough to scare the predator off as it didn’t end up with any of the hens in hand. Hopefully it was a good enough scare to keep the bird out of the yard for good.
I bet that rooster got some lovin’ that night.
