The Burmese python is already considered a destructive force in South Florida’s ecosystem. A new collaborative study involving the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples has revealed that things are worse than experts thought when it comes to the size of the invasive Burmese python’s prey.
This means more animals on the menu throughout South Florida, where pythons have decimated populations of foxes, bobcats, raccoons and other animals.
Pythons swallow deer, alligators, and other prey whole. What they can eat is limited to and dependent on how wide the Burmese python’s mouth opening can stretch. Researchers call this the snake’s canyon.
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What gives pythons the ability to eat such large animals are their incredible mouths. The lower jaw bones are not fused in the front, allowing the jaws to stretch widely. Their skin is also so elastic that it covers more than half the circumference of the maximum opening in large pythons, allowing the snakes to consume prey six times larger than similarly sized snakes of some other snake species.
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Conservancy of Southwest Florida Biologists Ian Bartoszek and Ian Easterling recently conducted a study in collaboration with Dr. Bruce Jayne of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, to better understand the ecological impacts of the invasive Burmese python. The team measured the largest maximum gap recorded to date in Burmese pythons.
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Jayne said measurements of the longest Burmese python (21 feet) and two other very large snakes (15 and 17 feet), captured in South Florida, show that the pythons have an opening larger than even previous mathematical models would suggest. suggest.
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Previous studies of pythons have found that the largest cleft diameter was 22 centimeters (8.7 in). But the large snakes in Jayne, Bartoszek and Easterling’s current study had a maximum opening of 26 centimeters (10.2 inches). These measurements correspond to a circumference of 32 inches.
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Knowing the limits on the size of prey that predators can eat can help researchers predict the ecological impact that invasive snakes can have as they enter new areas.
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Which pythons were used for the gape study?
Three large adult female Burmese pythons at the Conservancy were examined and used for the data and observations of this study, including the longest documented capture ever recorded. One python, measured for data, was found by Conservancy biologists eating an 80-pound white-tailed deer. The deer was 66.9% of the snake’s mass.
“Watching an invasive apex predator swallow a large deer before your eyes is something you will never forget. The impact the Burmese python has on native wildlife cannot be denied. This is a natural problem of our time for the Greater Everglades ecosystem,” said Bartoszek.
“Besides the large absolute size of the deer that was eaten is impressive, our anatomical measurements indicate that this deer was near the maximum size of prey that could be consumed by this snake. Therefore, these snakes appear to be overachievers by sometimes pushing the limits to test what their anatomy allows, rather than being slackers who only eat snack-sized prey,” Jayne said.
Python Research and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida
The primary goal of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida is to create a database of behavior and habitat use to better understand python activity. This research will help inform decision makers, other biologists and land managers to develop a control strategy for the apex predator.
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The Conservancy began its research and removal of Burmese pythons in the bioregion in 2013.
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As of October 2024, the team has removed more than 36,000 pounds (18 tons) of python from an area of approximately 150 square miles in southwest Florida.
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Using radiotelemetry fieldwork to document behavior and biology, 120 adult Burmese pythons (known as scout snakes) have been radio-tagged and tracked to better understand the invasive population.
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The primary goal of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida is to create a database of behavior and habitat use to better understand python activity. This research will help inform decision makers, other biologists and land managers to develop a control strategy for the apex predator.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How big is a Burmese python’s mouth? How big of a prey can they eat?
