‘I hadn’t seen anything like this’: Researchers in Naples capture Burmese python swallowing 77-pound deer

NAPLES, Fla. (WSVN) — Researchers in Naples came across a stunning sight involving a Burmese python and another animal.

A group of snake hunters believed they were about to see two pythons interact. They were in for quite the shock.

The researchers captured the moment the 115-pound reptile swallowed a 77-pound white-tailed deer.

Ian Bartoszek runs a python research and removal program for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

“As a biologist, I hadn’t seen anything like this,” he said. “We expected to someday, but even on the trail of this animal for over a decade, it still made us pause and reflect what we’re seeing, why we’re doing this.”

Bartoszek said he and two partners were tracking a male scout snake with a radio transmitter, thinking he was leading them toward a female Burmese python.

Instead, they made the chilling discovery.

“This isn’t the first observation we’ve had on deer inside pythons. This was the first time we actually saw one in the act,” said Bartoszek.

The snake had half-ingested the deer when they arrived and took 30 minutes to fully swallow it.

The trio then humanely euthanized the snake so they could study the diameter of its mouth, which is called a gape.

“We have a lot of respect for this animal. They’re not here through any fault of their own,” said Bartoszek. “They’re vulnerable in Southeast Asia, in their native range, but we try to get as much science out of these animals as possible.”

The researchers determined the python had a gape of 10.2 inches, which is about 32 inches in diameter. This means it could eat prey six times larger than other snake species.

The team hopes this discovery can help them understand how local animals are affected by the invasive species.

“If this was in the court of law, and I was talking to the jury, I would say, ‘Enter Exhibit B, this image,’ and I’d rest my case on the impact that these animals are having on our native wildlife,” said Bartoszek.

Burmese pythons can be seen from the southern Everglades up to Lake Okeechobee and close to Fort Myers.