Incredible video of an enormous alligator devouring a python in Florida’s Everglades was filmed by a passing cyclist earlier this week.
Alison Joslyn, who is an endurance athlete and has a passion for wildlife photography, caught the shocking sight as she was out on her bike, training.
‘That’s one less python to terrorize the Everglades.’ she wrote after posting pictures and video online after cycling through the Shark Valley area of Everglades National Park.
Joslyn described the encounter as ‘special and rare’ noting how she appreciated the unique nature of the Everglades.
The alligator appeared sluggish with Joslyn speculating that it might have been due to the recent chilly temperatures in the area or was perhaps worn out from battling the snake.
‘Gator was quite lethargic and I was wondering if it might be the cold, he was tired from fighting the snake, maybe got bit by the snake, started swallowing the snake and had to stop because it was too big?’ she wrote.
Following what had clearly been an epic battle between the two creatures, the snake had lost and was partially inside the 10-foot alligator’s mouth and coiled around it.
Although pythons are not venomous, Joslyn pondered whether the snake’s bite might have damaged the soft tissue in the alligator’s mouth as it fought for survival.
‘I was thinking a bite could be an issue, I was aware they aren’t venomous, but as the gator had the head of the snake in his mouth or down his throat I wondered if the snake could have done damage to those soft tissues as it was fighting for its life,’ Joslyn wrote.
Pythons are an invasive species in Florida and are not native to the state. Theyhave had detrimental impact on the Everglades’ delicate ecosystem.
While not venomous and posing no immediate physical threat to humans, it preys on native animals including raccoons and opossums.
Mammals whose populations have declined most significantly are regularly found in the stomachs of pythons removed from Everglades National Park and elsewhere.
The snakes have established a breeding population in South Florida and compete with native wildlife for food, triggering population declines.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the animals must be ‘humanely killed onsite’ at the time of capture.
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This article by James Gordon was first published by The Daily Mail on 24 December 2023. Lead Image: A cyclist captured a stunning pictures of a massive alligator devouring a python in the Florida Everglades.
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