Burmese python swallows whole deer, viral video captures frightening scene

Last updated:October 26, 2024, 4:21 PM IST

Scientists demonstrated the limits of a Burmese python and showed how large the animal it can devour.

In a recent study, scientists revealed the limits of a Burmese python and how large of an animal it can devour. According to a study published August 22 in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians, the python shown in the video is a female reptile that weighs about 120 pounds (52 kg) and is 14.8 feet long. It swallowed a white-tailed deer of the species Odocoileus virginianus weighing approximately 35 kg. The most surprising aspect of the deer was how it managed to enter the python's mouth. To achieve this, the python had to stretch its mouth wide and open its jaws to 93 percent of their capacity. Ian Barteszek, a wildlife biologist and science coordinator for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and one of the study's authors, noted to Live Science that they felt like they were actually witnessing a serial killer in action, and it was very strange to see him in real life to watch -time.

Florida's wild area is already known for its large tiger pythons. For this study, a male python named Ronin was equipped with a tracking device. He described it as the most brutal and heartbreaking sight he had seen in his 12 years searching for pythons in Southwest Florida.

According to Barteszek, this python hunts both deer and crocodiles. Furthermore, he stated that the behavior he observed was completely cruel, further highlighting that such occurrences are very common and have occurred for millions of years in regions where large snakes live. He also mentioned that top predators that could threaten various animal species have not evolved in Florida's forests.

Burmese pythons arrived in the Everglades in the mid-20th century and are considered dangerous to Florida's forest ecosystem. These invasive species were first spotted in 1979, after which they became fully established in the 1990s and began preying on the native species. Due to the lack of a natural predator, Burmese pythons multiplied rapidly here. Experts estimate that there are millions of Burmese pythons here, which have destroyed the local ecosystem and killed numerous animal species.

According to the study, it was previously believed that the maximum opening of a Burmese python's mouth was about 22 cm. After studying three of them, including this female python that hunted this deer, the researchers determined that this limit would be around 26 cm.