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  1. #1
    Phero Enthusiast Numanoid's Avatar
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    Default Python Explodes After Eating Alligator

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    ex.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2005/10/05/235407.html



    MIAMI - Alligators have clashed with nonnative pythons

    before in Everglades National Park. But when a 6-foot gator tangled with a 13-foot python recently, the result

    wasn't pretty.

    The snake apparently tried to swallow the gator whole _ and then exploded. Scientists stumbled

    upon the gory remains last week.

    The species have battled with increasing frequency _ scientists have documented

    four encounters in the last three years. The encroachment of Burmese pythons into the Everglades could threaten an

    $8 billion restoration project and endanger smaller species, said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife

    professor.

    The gators have had to share their territory with a python population that has swelled over the past

    20 years after owners dropped off pythons they no longer wanted in the Everglades. The Asian snakes have thrived in

    the wet, hot climate.

    "Encounters like that are almost never seen in the wild. ... And we here are, it's

    happened for the fourth time," Mazzotti said. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent

    draw.

    "They were probably evenly matched in size," Mazzotti said of the latest battle. "If the python got a good

    grip on the alligator before the alligator got a good grip on him, he could win."

    While the gator may have been

    injured before the battle began _ wounds were found on it that apparently were not caused by python bites _ Mazzotti

    believes it was alive when the battle began. And it may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to

    digest it, leading to the blow up.

    The python was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its

    midsection. Its stomach still surrounded the alligator's head, shoulders, and forelimbs. The remains were

    discovered and photographed Sept. 26 by helicopter pilot and wildlife researcher Michael Barron.

    The incident has

    alerted biologists to new potential dangers from Burmese pythons in the Everglades.

    "Clearly, if they can kill an

    alligator they can kill other species," Mazzotti said. "There had been some hope that alligators can control Burmese

    pythons. ... This indicates to me it's going to be an even draw. Sometimes alligators are going to win and

    sometimes the python will win.

    "It means nothing in the Everglades is safe from pythons, a top down predator,"

    Mazzotti said.

    Not only can the python kill other reptiles, the snakes will also eat otters, squirrels,

    endangered woodstorks and sparrows.

    While there are thousands of alligators in the Everglades, Joe Wasilewski, a

    wildlife biologist and crocodile tracker, said its unknown how many pythons there are.

    "We need to set traps and

    do a proper survey," of the snakes, he said. At least 150 have been captured in the last two years.

    The problem

    arises when people buy pets they are not prepared to care for.

    "People will buy these tiny little snakes and if

    you do everything right, they're six-feet tall in one year. They lose their appeal, or the owner becomes afraid of

    it. There's no zoo or attraction that will take it," so they release the snakes into the Everglades.

    A

    reproducing snake can have as many as 100 hatchlings, which explains why the snake population has soared, Wasilewski

    said.

    The Burmese snake problem is just part of a larger issue of nonnative animal populations in South Florida,

    he said. So many iguanas have been discarded in the region that they are gobbling tropical flowers and causing

    problems for botanists, Wasilewski said.

    A 10- or 20-foot python is also large enough to pose a risk to an unwary

    human, especially a small child, he added.

    "I don't think this is an imminent threat. This is not a 'Be afraid,

    be very afraid situation.'"

  2. #2
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    Default

    Very Interesting !

  3. #3
    Phero Enthusiast Numanoid's Avatar
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    Default

    Probably the worst case of

    indigestion I've ever seen.

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