'It was insane': Hunters capture longest Burmese python ever recorded near Naples, Florida

Hunters in south Florida caught the largest Burmese python ever measured, and the lengthy beast is currently being examined at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples.

The 19-foot python was caught in the Big Cypress National Preserve in eastern Collier County early Monday morning.

"I knew we were capable of it but I didn't know it would happen," said Naples hunter and Ohio State University student Jake Waleri. "Last year my cousin and I caught a snake that was almost 18 feet long, and we realized we could handle a snake of that size."

They certainly handled the 19-footer, as is evident on the video Waleri and his friends captured.

Burmese pythons first appeared decades ago and have since established themselves as a permanent feature south of Lake Okeechobee.

"I've always loved the wildlife and it's great to be a part of protecting it," Waleri said. "Around 1 o'clock in the morning we stumbled upon this giant snake that I thought was a 10-foot snake and we cruise up closer to it and realized it was a monster."

Snake drama!:Video: What it looks like to take down the longest Burmese python ever caught in Florida

They've wreaked havoc on local wildlife, with scientists saying that most of the fur-bearing animals in the historic Everglades are gone.

South Florida has now produced the two longest Burmese pythons on record. The previous record was 18-feet, 10-inches long, and that snake was caught about 35 miles west of Miami in October of 2020.

"It was insane," Waleri said. "It was very chaotic. We tried to pin the head, but that wasn't working. So I just jumped on it."

How long is 19 feet? It's about the average height of an adult giraffe.

"It's the only snake that's scared me so much that I didn't know what to do," Waleri said. "At first I just held onto the tail for dear life. And then one of my friends took a net and tried to pin its head down, and we quickly realized that was not a winning strategy. Eventually it struck at me."

Waleri and his friends started hunting pythons in 2020.

"It's concerning because these snakes are getting bigger every ear," Waleri said. "We need to pull these big females out of the ecosystem before they lay eggs."

Waleri said the catch was a dream come true.

"I guess that's everybody's goal, but you never think it's going to happen to you," he said.

Conservancy of Southwest Florida biologist Ian Easterling said Wednesday the snake likely laid more than 100 eggs recently and was in search of its next meal.

"They're getting huge while eating our native wildlife," Easterling said. "The bonus is that these guys that captured it, they brought it to us for the official measurements, so we'll be collecting the genetic information and the diet information and other data."

Easterling said the female does not have eggs inside it.

"It's their 49th snake they've captured," said Easterling. "It's their catch, their snake, and they caught it in an area we rarely go to."

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Hunters Ryan Ausburn and Kevin Pavlidis caught the second-longest snake while participating in the South Florida Water Management District's hunting program.

The FWC’s Exotic Pet Amnesty Program allows pet owners to surrender nonnative or exotic pets without penalty. Visit MyFWC.com/PetAmnesty for more information.

To learn more about the FWC’s Python Action Team and the SFWMD’s Python Elimination Program, visit MyFWC.com/Python and SFWMD.gov/Python.

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