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| 19-foot python killed (Photo by FWC) |
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the man, identified as Jason Leon, was was riding late at night on May 11 in a rural area of southeast Miami-Dade County when he and his passenger spotted about 3 feet of the snake sticking out of the roadside brush. Leon stopped his car, grabbed the snake behind its head and started dragging it out of the brush. When the snake began to wrap itself around his leg, he called for assistance from others and then used a knife to kill the snake. Leon once owned Burmese pythons as pets and has experience handling this nonvenomous constrictor species.
The python was a 128-pound female that was not carrying eggs, according to University of Florida scientists who examined the snake.
"Jason Leon’s nighttime sighting and capture of a Burmese python of more than 18 feet in length is a notable accomplishment that set a Florida record. The FWC is grateful to him both for safely removing such a large Burmese python and for reporting its capture," said Kristen Sommers, Exotic Species Coordination Section Leader for the FWC.
Leon reported his python capture to the FWC’s South Region office, which connected him with 888-IveGot1 (888-483-4861), the FWC’s hotline for reporting exotic species.
"With the help of people like Mr. Leon and our ongoing partnerships with other agencies, the FWC is advancing what we know about Burmese pythons in Florida," Sommers said. "This event highlights how the Exotic Species hotline allows the public to help us obtain more information about Burmese pythons, so we can improve management of this invasive species. It also reflects the cooperative efforts of the FWC and its partners to address python sightings by the public."
FWC asks the public to report sightings of exotic species to IveGot1.org or 888-IveGot1. There is also a free smartphone app: IVEGOT1.
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