DAVIE, Fla. – Florida wildlife officials say 106 Burmese pythons were caught during a state-sanctioned hunt for the invasive snakes.
The longest was 15 feet (4.5 metres).
Over 1,000 people from 29 states registered to remove pythons from South Florida’s wetlands from Jan. 16 through Feb. 14.
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Frank Mazzotti of the University of Florida says the stomach contents of the captured pythons are still being analyzed, but so far the prey has included a fawn and a wood stork and other large wading birds.
Once the necropsies are finished, about a third of the pythons will be made into wallets, shoes, belts or handbags. Brian Wood of All American Gator Products in Hollywood pays up to $150 apiece for the snakes – about the same price he pays for python skins imported from Asia.