Nothing to see here: just a Burmese python that’s swallowed an adult deer

Non-native constrictors let loose in Florida have become a big problem for wildlife officials, who are doing their best to hunt down and eradicate the interlopers before they can menace native wildlife species, pets and, heaven forbid, people. But it seems the exotic reptiles have gained an, um, foothold, and have established a breeding population, at least in the everglades. Not good.

Case in point: This Burmese python that was in the process of devouring an entire adult deer.

Contractors for the South Florida Water Management District found the snake on a tree island in western Miami-Dade County, according to the district. It was killed with a shotgun blast.

The snake was 15.6 feet long, making it one of the largest ever found in the wild in South Florida, said Scott Hardin, exotic species coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The snake had a massive bulge from a recently consumed 76-pound female deer, among the largest prey items ever found in one of these snakes, he said.

Well, Kobayashi is impressed, anyway.

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Python digesting a deer captured in Everglades [Sun Sentinel]