Longest Burmese python ever recorded captured near Naples, Florida 

A group of hunters caught the longest Burmese python ever recorded near Naples in south Florida on Monday. “It was insane,” they said about their prized catch. 

The 19-foot python was caught in the Big Cypress National Preserve in eastern Collier County early on Monday morning. 

"I've always loved the wildlife and it's great to be a part of protecting it," said hunter Jake Waleri. "Around 1 o'clock in the morning we stumbled upon this giant snake that I thought was a 10-foot snake and we cruise up closer to it and realized it was a monster."

"It was very chaotic. We tried to pin the head, but that wasn't working. So I just jumped on it," he added. 

"It's the only snake that's scared me so much that I didn't know what to do," Waleri said. "At first I just held onto the tail for dear life. And then one of my friends took a net and tried to pin its head down, and we quickly realized that was not a winning strategy. Eventually, it struck at me."

The long snake was taken to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples to be examined by researchers. 

Burmese pythons have become permanent residents south of Lake Okeechobee after they first appeared in the area around ten years ago. However, they have become an invasive species that has been changing the ecosystem in the Everglades. 

The previous longest Burmese python ever caught was also captured in South Florida, about 35 miles west of Miami in October 2022. The snake measured 18 feet, 10 inches long, and weighed 215 pounds, breaking records before it. 

"I knew we were capable of it but I didn't know it would happen," Waleri continued. "Last year my cousin and I caught a snake that was almost 18 feet long, and we realized we could handle a snake of that size."

Waleri and his friends began hunting for pythons in 2020. However, he noted that the snakes have been getting bigger every year. They have been trying to catch the large female pythons before they lay eggs and increase the population of pythons in the ecosystem. 

Conservancy of Southwest Florida biologist Ian Easterling said that the snake Waleri caught most likely had recently laid over 100 eggs. 

"They're getting huge while eating our native wildlife," Easterling said. "The bonus is that these guys that captured it, they brought it to us for the official measurements, so we'll be collecting the genetic information and the diet information and other data."