Video shows hiker rescue deer from python attack

(BrooklynX, YouTube)


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OCHOPEE, Florida — If you go for a walk in the woods, you might expect to see a deer. But a python preparing to eat that deer? That’s definitely not something you’d be prepared for.

Yet it happens in Florida, where invasive Burmese pythons are running amuck in the Everglades and causing serious harm to native species.

The startling video was shot by Miami resident Jimmy Wilson. According to a report from the Naples Daily News, the bizarre encounter occurred while Wilson was hiking in rural Collier County.

He found the massive python wrapped around a white-tailed deer, slowly squeezing the life from it. Both creatures were motionless as Wilson approached, but the python sprang into action after Wilson fired several shots from his gun. The snake released the deer and headed for the trees, but Wilson killed it (off camera) before it could escape.

Wilson then returned to the deer and tried to help it recover from the python's attack. After some time, the deer leaped to its feet and ran off through the marsh.

As reported by the Naples Daily News, the footage was shot earlier this summer. Wilson recently showed it to a family friend, David Chambers, at a barbecue. Chambers then shared the video online in an effort to raise awareness of Florida’s python problem.

"I think this can shed light on an important issue," he said.

It’s estimated that there are tens of thousands of pythons in the Everglades. The voracious predators are decimating many of the other species, including endangered species like the wood stork and the Key Largo wood rat. Research suggests that pythons have caused populations of foxes, bobcats, opossums and raccoons to virtually vanish from many areas.

To combat the threat, python hunting is legal in Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission holds regular Python Challenges where hunters can win big prizes for capturing pythons.


![Grant Olsen](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2560/256091/25609108\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Grant Olsen \-----------------------------

Grant Olsen joined the KSL.com contributor team in 2012. He covers outdoor adventures, travel, product reviews and other interesting things. He is also the author of the book “Rhino Trouble.” You can contact him at grantorrin@gmail.com.

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