Mike Elfenbein was one of those guys who experienced a 'surreal' and 'lucky' take-down at Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida over the weekend. Elfenbein, his son Cole, and three other guys they had just met were in the area just lookin' for pythons.
The Floridian — who is not a professional snake hunter — and his son, Cole, had just met three other men searching for Burmese pythons, an invasive snake from Southeast Asia that is now running rampant across the southern United States“We all came across this giant snake in the road at the exact same time,” recalled Elfenbein, who said the snake initially looked so big that they thought it was an alligator.Mike Elfenbein“I had her by the head,” said Elfenbein while recalling the experience.
“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,” he added.They weren’t exaggerating their quarry’s size. The monster Burmese python officially measured 17-foot-2-inches long and 23 inches in girth, and weighed 198 pounds, as confirmed by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.was bagged by researchers in 2022.
“I’m not looking to compete with anybody. I’m not a contractor,” declared Elfenbein, who plans to keep the supersized specimen’s skull in a display. “I’m just a guy trying to do something good.”as part of the exotic pet trade, the Burmese python has established breeding populations in the Everglades and other parts of the state’s southern half.
The species is particularly problematic as it possesses no natural predators in Florida aside from humans. That makes them a major threat to the state’s birds, mammals and other native wildlife.in which competitors try to kill as many snakes as possible — the problem could be “intractable” at this point.
“Overall eradication of pythons in southern Florida is likely impossible,” wrote researchers in a paper released earlier this year by the U.S. Geological Survey . “Suppression of the python population, even at local scales, will require strategic coordination of researchers, land managers, funding, public outreach, implementation of several different complimentary tools and rigorous evaluation of these tools.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Big Boi suffers big bird problem after bringing pet owl out on stage for college concertBig Boi suffered a big bird problem when one of his pet owls attempted to fly away after he brought it on stage at a concert for a Georgia college.
Read more »
Hogs’ Newcomer Combines with Oldest Player against ULMFresham Tahlia Scott begins college career with a big big, clutch free throws
Read more »
Pitiful Giants performance loses NFL bettor $330,000 in nightmareThis bettor bet big on Big Blue — and paid the price.
Read more »
Snake bite spell protects this 6th century BC tomb in EgyptInteresting Engineering is a cutting edge, leading community designed for all lovers of engineering, technology and science.
Read more »
A new home for the 'Snake Den': Arizona Rattlers move to GlendaleThe Arizona Rattlers is about to move to a new home, which will be located near the home of the Arizona Cardinals.
Read more »