Florida hunters catch Burmese pythons nearly 6 meters long

The record-breaking Burmese python was discovered in the Big Cypress National Reserve in a campaign to destroy this invasive species.

The second largest captured python in Florida.(Photo: Fox News).

Cynthia Downer and Jonathan Lopez, members of the Pythons Removal Team of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (PAT), caught a 5.58-meter-long, 45kg python, on September 22. This is the largest python FWC PAT ever caught in the Big Cypress sanctuary. It is also the second largest python in nature in Florida, only less than the current record 10cm. The female python holding the title was captured in 2013, is 5.68 meters long and weighs 58kg.

"The capture of large adult pythons is important to prevent them from adding an average of 30-60 young to the population each time of spawning," FWC said.

According to environmentalists, Burmese pythons kill deer, short muzzle crocodiles and many other wildlife in the state. Their presence in the wild results from escaping or being released by the owner.

The FWC also announced that PAT had captured the 900th Burmese python on September 24 in the Everglades swamp and the Francis S. Taylor wildlife management site in Miami-Dade County. The python is just over 0.6 meters long and weighs 0.1kg.

1. Burmese pythons threaten to "devour" Florida
2. A huge campaign to kill Burmese pythons in the United States