# Clash of titan reptiles leaves python, alligator dead



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Clash of titan reptiles leaves python, alligator dead in Florida's swampland 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051005/sc_afp/usoffbeatsnake_051005192223

MIAMI (AFP) - The tail of an alligator protruding from the ruptured gut of a python, which had swallowed its foe alive, bore witness to a fierce and unusual battle between two of the deadliest predators in Florida's swamps.

Park rangers, who photographed the remains of the two huge reptiles in the Everglades National Park, say the clash demonstrates the threat to the fragile swamplands posed by a growing population of non-native Burmese pythons.

Pythons, thought to have abandoned by pet owners, have been multiplying in the large swath of swampland, and environmentalists fear the exotic intruders threaten to overrun the national park, preying on native species.

The latest find suggest the huge pythons might even challenge alligators' leading position in the food chain.

Park biologist Skip Snow described the gruesome scene he found on September 27 in a remote corner of the Everglades park, which he said showed an almost 4-meter-long (12.5-foot) Burmese python had "apparently" entirely swallowed an alligator about half his size.

"I say apparently because the tail and hind limbs of the dead alligator were protruding from a hole in the mid-body of the dead python," said Snow.

"Although some bones of the jaw were present, the head of the python was missing," he said in a field report, illustrated with graphic photographs.

The photographs show the hind quarters of the alligator protruding from the snake's mid-section. "The stomach of the python still surrounded the head, shoulders, and forelimbs of the alligator," said Snow.

"When extracted from the snake, the alligator was largely intact except for two open wounds, one to the top of the skull behind the eyes and one on the shoulder," he said adding that it was unclear how the python's gut was ruptured, or how the snake died.

Park officials have removed dozens of Burmese pythons from the Everglades over the past years, and are training a Beagle, nicknamed "Python Pete," to track the exotic invaders.

Python Bursts After Trying to Eat Gator on Yahoo! News Photos http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/eve...styWscF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhMTZlZDI0BHNlYwNzc2xpc3Q-


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Loose python devours 18-pound Siamese cat near Miami-Dade home

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...fla-features-homegarden&track=mostemailedlink

It had only been two days since Elidia Rodríguez had seen her Siamese cat, Francis. So when a Burmese python showed up Sunday in a wooded area behind her house in northwest Miami-Dade, the 66-year-old woman thought nothing of it.

That was until her son, Andres, noticed a peculiar bulge in the python's belly.

"I'm sure there's a cat in there," he said later.

It's the latest python incident in South Florida, where exotic snakes are proliferating and swallowing pets and other creatures whole. A 13-foot python recently gulped down a 6-foot alligator until its stomach ruptured, alarming public officials and citizens. And for residents like Rodríguez, Sunday's incident heightened concern.

On Sunday morning, Rodríguez was walking her dogs when she encountered the snake, which was 10 to 12 feet long, her son said.

He said his mother called him to the scene because he had caught snakes on the property before. He said he was trying to capture it when he noticed the bulge. That's when he decided to call 911. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue anti-venom unit arrived and bagged the python about 11 a.m.

"It was a pretty good size animal, and it wasn't friendly, either," said Capt. Al Cruz.

He said when he tried to grab the python, it tried several times to bite him. He said the snake had several rows of about 100 teeth and could have inflicted a significant wound.

"I figured it hasn't been a pet snake for some time now, especially with the temperament that it had," he said

Cruz said the bulge in the python's stomach was about 15 to 16 inches, and he suspected it was the 18-pound cat.

"It was a full-size pet," he said. "I even felt the legs in the stomach."

He said the python was taken to A.D. Barnes Park in Miami, where it is on exhibit.

Andres Rodríguez said the cat was about a year old, and his mother had received it from a friend. When he told her that he thought the python had eaten her pet, he said, her eyes welled with tears.

He was still trying to decide how to break the news to his 6-year-old daughter, Nicole, who lives in Tampa. He said she had become close to the animal,and would be heartbroken.

Cruz said the anti-venom unit sees about three to four pythons a year roaming the streets of Miami-Dade County. He said they could be found from Miami Beach to Cutler Ridge.

"They are pets that people have that get away, or people release them," he said. He said a reptile 10 to 12 feet long can kill an adult or child through strangulation, but most won't unless they're confronted.

"The big problem is probably with small pets," he said.

Rodríguez said he caught a python behind the house five years ago and kept it in a cage, but it eventually died. He said the family has other pets, and he fears a python could strike again. "These things, I think, should be completely outlawed," he said.

Staff Writer Jeremy Milarsky and news partner WTVJ-Ch. 6 contributed to this report.

Alva James-Johnson can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4523.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

For the video of the cat python:
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=19803


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Gut-wrenching X-ray: Snake likely swallowed cat

A cat that disappeared two days ago from its Miami Gardens neighborhood was likely killed by a giant python, X-rays showed.

Evidence piled up Monday against a 12-foot Burmese python suspected of eating a beloved house cat: An X-ray revealed the bulge in the snake's gut is a small mammal, likely a feline.

''I'm 90 percent sure it's a cat -- a very large cat,'' said William Chavez, a veterinarian at the Bird and Exotic Wildlife Hospital near Dadeland Mall.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12869744.htm


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

10-foot-long python traps itself by eating turkey at Miami nursery

MIAMI -- Once again, a python was done in by its dinner.

After one python exploded after trying to eat an alligator, and another was blamed for disappearance of a Siamese cat, a 10-foot African rock python was apparently trapped by the turkey it ate at a Miami nursery. It couldn't slither back through a fence to digest the bird in peace.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-1012python,0,4102480.story?track=mostemailedlink


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Florida's Python Problem
Burmese Pythons Are Setting Up Home in the State's Everglades National Park

With hurricane season underway, and alligators on the rampage, and sharks looking for lunch, does Florida really need Burmese pythons?

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/DyeHard/story?id=2072458&page=1


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Glades python killer: gator or gas?

A year after two bodies were discovered locked in gruesome embrace deep in the marsh, a television documentary attempts to solve a mystery since burned into Everglades lore.

Did a giant python really explode after swallowing an alligator? And what ate the snake's head?

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15430799.htm

ALSO:

Video | Watch an excerpt from the National Geographic show http://www.miami.com/multimedia/miami/news/archive/video/widescreens/0903python.html


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Everglades biologists pursue a voracious foe: the Burmese python

Hearing this shout, Skip Snow slammed on the brakes. When the off-roader plowed to a halt, he and his partner, Lori Oberhofer, leaped out and took off running toward two snakes, actually - a pair of 10-foot Burmese pythons lying on a levee, sunning themselves.

By Snow's count, 154 pythons have been removed in and around the Everglades through the first 11 months of this year, up markedly from the 95 caught in all of 2005, 70 in 2004, and 23 in 2003.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/16261944.htm


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