Hunters have captured and killed the longest python on record in Florida. The South Florida Water Management District announced Thursday that hunters Ryan Ausburn and Kevin Pavlidis caught the snake earlier this month about 35 miles west of Miami.
The egg-bearing female snake weighed in at 140 pounds and was 18 feet, 9 inches long.
According to the News-Press, the capture was part of a joint effort between the Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to eliminate the harmful invasive constrictors.
Biologists say Burmese pythons are decimating native species in the Everglades. They also carry a lung-destroying parasite that is spreading to native snake species.
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