Massive '500 Pound Ball' of Mating Pythons Captured in Florida

Wildlife conservationists in Florida captured 11 Burmese pythons weighing a total of 500 pounds durning a recent tracking mission in a marsh near Naples last month, including one writhing mound of snakes seven feet wide. And one female python alone measured more than 16 feet long.

The mission was part of a tracking program by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to hunt down the invasive species, which has contributed to the decline of raccoon, opossum and bobcat populations in the state since 1997. With no natural predators, the United States Geological Survey has named it one of the most concerning invasive species in the region, particularly in Everglades National Park.

The Feb. 21 hunt, which took place on public land in Collier County, yielded not one, but an impressive two mating balls in one day.

To locate the snakes, conservancy staff put implant trackers in male “scout snakes" and set them free in remote areas far from humans. The conservancy has put trackers in 110 pythons since 2013, which has helped capture and remove more than 1,300 pythons—or the equivalent of "35,000 pounds of snake"—from a 150-square-mile area.

The pair of male snakes that led conservationists to the mating balls were named "Hisstopher" and "George."

"For 10 years, we’ve been catching and putting them down humanely," Conservancy biologist Ian Bartoszek told the Miami Herald. "You can’t put them in zoos and send them back to Southeast Asia. Invasive species management doesn’t end with rainbows and kittens. These are remarkable creatures, here through no fault of their own. They are impressive animals, good at what they do."

“It’s probably most people’s worst nightmare, but for us, it’s a good day. It’s a win for native wildlife,” Bartoszek continued. "It was a moment to savor, not so much as a victory but as a really interesting observation on snake behavior most people will never get to see. There were so many large snakes together in the same place. Most would say it’s creepy, but it was creepy cool to see."