Florida Plagued by Gigantic Pythons
posted in Animal Species |Findings suggest that enormously sized pythons capable of swallowing dogs or alligators are encroaching into the south eastern territories of the United States. Florida is first to have identified these gigantic pythons says a recent study.
Frank Mozzotti, a professor from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, suggested that pythons can invade a territory thronged by animals like alligators. For example, north Florida, Louisiana and Georgia are some states where alligators inhabit.
The pythons which survive in Florida were Burmese pythons which were brought to the United States as pets. Eventually, they were thrown into the wild. Mazzotti is his study reveals that between 2002 and 2005, about 201 pythons came under the clutches of the state authorities. The figure seemed to have doubled to 418 from 2005 to 2007.
The largest specimen was as long as 16.4 feet which weighed about 154 pounds.
Professor Frank claims that even though the species were huge, they were not poisonous and could swim to great distances within short time frames. Fro instance, some pythons caught and let go with transmitters attached to their bodies swam as much as 37 miles in just a few hours.
The professor further claims that highly adaptable pythons can feed on just about anything like dogs, hares, foxes, squirrels, cats, raccoons and alligators. The pythons are expanding at a rapid pace in the Florida peninsula, with about 30000 of them surviving in the marshland of “everglades” in Florida.
Professor Mazzotti further adds that female serpents are most likely to store sperms to produce them in the years to come. In addition, the professor asserts that a serpent weighing approximately 100 pounds or more can produce 60-80 eggs in just one year.