These are two of the most notorious creatures in Florida… a heavyweight battle for the ages.
If you spend enough time looking at Florida wildlife, you’re bound to see the ultimate clash of the titans, the native American alligator squaring off against the invasive Burmese python. The Florida Everglades has essentially turned into a prehistoric battleground, and given the invasive and destructive nature of these pythons, it’s hard not to be rooting for the hometown hero, the American alligator.
Alligators are native to the southeastern United States and are known for their powerful jaws and tough hides. They are apex predators, feeding on a variety of prey including fish, birds, and mammals. Alligators can grow to be over 14 feet in length and weigh over 1,000 pounds.
Pythons are not native to the Everglades, but have become established in the area due to the pet trade and release of captive individuals. Pythons are known for their impressive size and strength and are able to constrict their prey. They can grow to be over 20 feet in length and weigh over 200 pounds with the girth of a telephone pole.
That being said, here is a breakdown of what actually happens when these swamp giants cross paths.
Before the pythons showed up, the alligator was the undisputed king of the Everglades. They had zero natural predators once they reached adulthood. But the introduction of the Burmese python threw a massive, 20-foot wrench into the ecosystem. Now, these two reptiles are locked in a bizarre, high-stakes turf war.
When it comes to gator-on-python violence, the outcome almost entirely depends on who is bigger at the time of the encounter. Adult alligators are absolute armored tanks who will happily chomp down on young, juvenile pythons or smaller adults without a second thought. To a 10-foot gator, a 6-foot python isn’t much of a challenge at all.
However, once a python reaches mature, monster status (we’re talking 15 to 20 feet long), the tables completely turn, and these massive snakes will swallow a smaller 5-foot alligator completely whole. It’s rare that we see a battle between two of these mature swamp beasts.
In recent years, alligators have been observed consuming pythons in the Everglades, showing the adaptations of these two species living together. Alligators use their powerful jaws that allow them to overpower and crush the pythons. They also have very fast burst of speed allowing them to surprise a python and get the advantage on it.
This photographer came across a massive alligator with the massive snake locked in its jaws. The alligator can be seen manhandling the snake, using its strong head to literally throw it around. The man watches in absolute amazement as the gator starts to swallow down his impressive catch.
But the bigger problem for the Everglades has nothing to do with these two fighting. The real issue is that these pythons are wiping out the raccoons, opossums, and wading birds that gators rely on for their daily food.
The pythons are breeding faster, growing longer, and slowly pushing the native gators off their throne.
Massive Python Blocks Road In Florida Everglades
Florida is such a wild place, unlike any other in the United States. From gators climbing fences, to monkeys diving out of trees, to cougars running on boardwalks, to a woman discovering whatever the hell this is, the Sunshine State has made more than a few headlines over the years, and that doesn’t even dive into the hurricanes, meth heads, beach bums, and spring breakers than just take the beautiful state to absolutely sky high weird levels.
For years people have claimed to see giant Burmese pythons in the southern swamps, but it wasn’t until the ’90s when the first official sighting was confirmed. They’re not native to the state, but once a decent number of them made a home in the wildlife rich area, the population absolutely exploded.
A true estimate of just how many call Florida home is hard to get due to their reclusive nature, but some wildlife experts now estimate there are over 1 million pythons living in southern Florida, which has absolutely devastated all kinds of native animals. Over 90% of all small game animals in the Everglades have been wiped off the map, and the predators are now known to take out even alligators, formerly at the top of the food chain in the swamps.
There are now so many of these snakes that people are running into them when not even looking, like just the other day when a monster stopped traffic on a road crossing the Glades.
In a video credited to Kymberly Clark, an over 10 foot long python is seen making its way across the street, halting traffic and causing the motorists to get out of their cars for a closer look. I mean, hell, this this so big it honestly doesn’t make much sense. Those are just chilling the water and grasses? Terrifying.
The snake did makes its way off the road eventually, but my goodness can you imagine not seeing it in time and hitting it like a speed bump? Could have been a disaster, especially if the car swerved off the road and into the thicket with who knows how many more of these monsters.
Keep your eyes open, Floridians, you never know what’s going to get in your way…
