{"id":1972862,"date":"2023-07-14T09:10:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T13:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-hunts-down-massive-burmese-python-in-everglades-after-cutting-it-open-realizes-he-was-just-in-time\/"},"modified":"2023-07-14T09:14:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T13:14:47","slug":"man-hunts-down-massive-burmese-python-in-everglades-after-cutting-it-open-realizes-he-was-just-in-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-hunts-down-massive-burmese-python-in-everglades-after-cutting-it-open-realizes-he-was-just-in-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Man tracks and captures huge Burmese python in Everglades, saves the day."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fman-hunts-down-massive-burmese-python-in-everglades-after-cutting-it-open-realizes-he-was-just-in-time%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1972862&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Move over, gators \u2014 there\u2019s a new critter at the top of the food chain in the Florida Everglades.<\/h2>\n<p>Burmese pythons \u2014 one of Florida\u2019s most damaging <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/education-insanity-top-10-stories-of-the-week-vol-4\/\" title=\"Education Insanity: Top 10 Stories Of The Week (Vol. 4)\">invasive species<\/a> \u2014 have been known to overpower <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mouth-heartbreak-missing-boy-2-finally-found-mothers-murder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alligators<\/a> and literally eat them for lunch.<\/p>\n<p>About the only threat Florida <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-floridas-new-python-sniffing-dogs-1st-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pythons<\/a> have to worry about are python hunters, whose job it is to help eradicate the powerful invaders.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where snake hunter Mike Kimmel \u2014 also known as the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pythoncowboy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Python Cowboy<\/a>\u201d \u2014 comes in.<\/p>\n<p>Kimmel uses his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-sheriff-launches-probe-into-suspected-activities-after-flights-to-marthas-vineyard\/\" title=\"Texas Sheriff Launches Probe Into \u2018Suspected Activities\u2019 After Flights to Martha\u2019s Vineyard\">bird dog<\/a>, Otto, to sniff out pythons in remote areas of the Sunshine State\u2019s multimillion-acre wilderness, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fieldandstream.com\/conservation\/florida-snake-hunter-bags-16-foot-burmese-python-loaded-with-60-eggs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Field and Stream<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Kimmel made <a href=\"https:\/\/wsvn.com\/news\/local\/florida\/16-foot-python-pregnant-with-over-60-eggs-removed-from-everglades\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">headlines<\/a> recently with a recent catch: a massive, 16-foot female python.<\/p>\n<p>Not only was he able to eradicate the python, he made a grim discovery when he cut the beast open: more than 60 baseball-sized eggs.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>\u201cHere\u2019s one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-hunts-down-massive-burmese-python-in-everglades-after-cutting-it-open-realizes-he-was-just-in-time\/\" title=\"Man tracks and captures huge Burmese python in Everglades, saves the day.\">larger gravid [female carrying fertilized eggs] pythons<\/a> that Otto located for me this nesting season,\u201d Kimmel wrote in a recent Facebook post.<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cShe was nearly 16 feet long and contained over 60 eggs that were just days from being laid into our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-wouldnt-put-hands-defiant-boater-learns-harsh-life-lesson-seconds-warning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Everglades<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Female pythons can lay as few as 12 eggs, but are capable of laying over 100 eggs, according to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iucngisd.org\/gisd\/species.php?sc=1207#:~:text=Burmese%20pythons%20reach%20sexual%20maturity,2%20months%20afterwhich%20hatchlings%20emerge.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Global Invasive Species Database<\/a>. The mother incubates them for about two months by coiling on top of the eggs.<\/p>\n<p>Kimmel went on to explain the need for eliminating as many such invasive species as possible from the Everglades\u2019 fragile environment.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>\u201cA removal like this is absolutely crucial for our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-conservancy-group-discovers-record-breaking-burmese-python-in-everglades\/\" title=\"Florida Conservancy Group Discovers Record-Breaking Burmese Python In Everglades\">native wildlife<\/a> in that ecosystem and WILL make a difference,\u201d Kimmel wrote. \u201cA python this size can eat anything in the Everglades, as I\u2019ve proven with the multiple adult alligators I\u2019ve rescued from being eaten by pythons (3 separate times).<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThese invasive snakes are now the top of the food chain\u2026 until man &#038; dog intervene.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em><strong>WARNING: The following post contains images some may find disturbing.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-embed\">\n<\/div>\n<p>In a May 29 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Cs0wdA7OzqO\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram post<\/a>, Kimmel gave more details about the work he and Otto do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is Otto\u2019s first python season but he has found and alerted me to a dozen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/video-captures-shocking-moment-missing-grandmas-body-found-python-swallowed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pythons<\/a> already now, most of which have been full of eggs or even sitting on eggs,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s even found pythons nesting deep underground that we\u2019ve successfully dug out and removed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese pythons would never have been found without his keen sense of smell and drive to work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are up to almost 500 live python eggs removed and we are only half way through the season.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kimmel said he and his crew do their hunting in the remote, unmanaged areas of the Everglades wilderness, unlike most of the area\u2019s python hunters, who remain in more civilized areas with roadways and levees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[In my opinion] these remote areas are even more important to hunt and maintain, especially during nesting season,\u201d he explained. \u201cOur already struggling native wildlife is getting [eaten] up by these cryptic predators.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStanding by is not an option,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<p>During the past decade, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/ever\/learn\/nature\/burmese-python.htm#:~:text=Burmese%20pythons%20are%20established%20in,number%20in%20Everglades%20National%20Park.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Park Service<\/a> said, \u201csnakes from around the world have been turning up in Everglades National Park. The Burmese python is the best known and most problematic of these snakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NPS said the pythons became established \u201cdue to accidental or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/erickson-the-republican-secret-weapon\/\" title=\"ERICKSON: The Republican Secret Weapon\">intentional release<\/a> of captive pet animals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStudies show that pythons are probably the main reason that mammals have declined very sharply in number\u201d in Everglades National Park, according to the website.<\/p>\n<p>The park service added an admonishment to visitors, urging them, \u201cDon\u2019t release unwanted pets\u201d in the wild.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/man-hunts-massive-burmese-python-everglades-cutting-open-realizes-just-time\/\">Man Hunts Down Massive Burmese Python in Everglades, After Cutting It Open Realizes He Was Just in Time<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida&#8217;s Everglades now have a new predator ruling the roost: Burmese pythons. These invasive creatures, notorious for wreaking havoc in Florida, have been observed overpowering and devouring alligators. Python hunters are the only real concern for these formidable pythons in the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2022,"featured_media":1972863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1972862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2022"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1972862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1972863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1972862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1972862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1972862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}