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FLORIDA EVERGLADES — A 150-pound, 18-foot long Burmese python was discovered by engineers on a routine inspection Tuesday, according to the South Florida Water Management District.
The 18.2-foot-long female Burmese python could be the largest ever found on public land, according to spokesperson Randy Smith. The snake was found hiding on a levee near the Tamiami Trail.
"Needless to say, when you get one this big, it raises eyebrows," Smith told CNN. "It's just such a large animal."
The snake was shot in the head and taken to the University of Florida for a postmortem exam, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The necropsy of another Burmese python in 2012 revealed a record 87 eggs inside a 17-foot-7-inch-long female.
The longest Burmese python ever found in Florida measured 18 feet, 8 inches. It was discovered on the side of a rural road in 2013.
The python is an invasive species and has no predators in Florida. The snakes entered the parks from homes of people who kept the pythons as pets, according to researchers.
Now hundreds of pythons are removed from the Everglades every year, according to the National Park Service. Researchers said the pythons have had a devastating effect on wildlife in the area, with the population of raccoons dropping 99.3 percent and the opossum population dropping 98.9 percent between 2003 and 2011.
"You'd be hard pressed to find a rabbit or squirrel down there in the Everglades now," Smith told Live Science. "These snakes eat alligators — or they try to. They don't have any enemies and they eat anything they can get their teeth on."
The state of Florida held its first Python Challenge in 2013, which gave $1,500 to the person who could kill the most pythons. In all, 68 snakes were "harvested," with the longest one coming in at more than 14 feet, according to the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
