Burmese pythons are among the largest snakes in the world. Scientists from a laboratory in Florida performed an autopsy on a dead Burmese python in the Everglades, a tropical wetland in the southeastern United States.
Rosie Moore, a Florida-based geoscientist, said in a post on Instagram on Nov. 1 that the python was handed over to the research lab for autopsy, scientific specimen collection and investigation of its feeding.
Moore was one of the scientists who studied the snake’s diet. And the images from the autopsy are quite remarkable.
SWALLOWED A WHOLE CROCOAT
A post shared by Rosie Moore (@rosiekmoore)
An undigested crocodile of approximately 1.5 meters in length came out of the 6-meter-long python.
“He says he’s used to autopsies, but scientists have had to pause to get away from the smell. When asked if the smell was horrible, Moore said, “Oh my god. We were taking a break for a run outside to get some fresh air. “I’ve never smelled anything like it,” he says.
These pythons, which are seen as invasive, are very common in Florida and measures are being taken against this invasion.
“These snakes have invaded ecologically sensitive areas such as the Everglades National Park. They pose a threat to wildlife because of their wide dietary preferences,” Moore writes in the article. Moore says the species is destroying native species and damaging the ecosystem.
Pythons typically swallow their food whole, their unique anatomy allows their jaws to expand enough to engulf objects much larger than their body’s surroundings.
On rare occasions, pythons have also been documented to swallow humans whole. A 54-year-old missing woman was swallowed by a python in Indonesia last month, according to police. A scientist in Indonesia said the woman was likely swallowed by a reticulated python that could grow to be up to 20 feet long.
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