Insert “the hardest fight of his life” line here…
Florida has a major Burmese python problem. The snakes aren’t native to the Sunshine State but somehow or another they got introduced into the swamps of the Everglades and have proceeded to pretty much take over.
A 2012 study revealed some truly staggering facts about the domination of the python in Florida ecosystems. Compared to 1997 population levels, raccoons were down 99.3%, opossums were down 98.9%, bobcats down 87.5%, and nearly 100% of marsh rabbits, cottontails, and foxes had disappeared from the landscape, and that was 12 years ago. Python populations have done nothing but hockey stick upwards since then, which paints a harrowing story for what’s left of the native wildlife.
While alligators are their only true predator, once the snakes reach a certain size not even the fearsome gator can deal with them. Toss in the fact that most of them live in practically impossible to reach depths of the swamps and it’s clear this invasion is not slowing down anytime soon.
There are a number of python hunters who are doing their best to remove these snakes from the landscape, but considering the average female python can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time, many experts believe that manual catching is not so much as putting a dent in the overall problem, but that doesn’t mean people are going to give up and just the other night a former pro-boxer turned outdoorsman named King Pedford caught the largest python in Florida this year.
King, a heavyweight, used to fight out of Floyd Mayweather’s gym in Las Vegas and won 4 of his 5 pro fights via knockout, but has transitioned into a fulltime hunter with his own show titled Haymaker Hunting.
Local10 reports that he was out with Captain Mike Friedopfer of Epic Airboat Tours when they spotted a massive python. King jumped into action, grabbed it by the head, and was able to secure it, but a giant snake wasn’t the only big find of the night: It was a female who had just laid a clutch of eggs.
The python measured 16 feet, 105 pounds and 62 eggs were removed from the nest.
The snake will be turned into belts, boots, and wallets (I’d love one of those if you happen to read this) and the eggs were “humanely destroyed” after they couldn’t find a university who wanted to study them.
This snake was an absolute monster, no doubt about that, but it somehow was still three feet shorter than the world record captured in the Everglades last year. Really makes you think about the size of the ones we’ll never find out there lurking in the darkness…
Big shoutout to King for making the trip from Dallas to help the cause. Anyone who’s willing to jump on a 16 foot snake deserves a heck of a lot of respect and you’ve got a beer (or three) on me somewhere down the road.
