Think you know the Burmese python?
Think again.
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have recently discovered that our previous knowledge of this massive predator hugely underestimate the stretch of their stretchy jaws.
Known as the snake’s ‘gape’, previous models suggested that these gargantuan pythons had a gape with a 22 centimeter diameter. However, new research from Professor Bruce Jayne actually indicates that the maximal gaps of a Burmese python is 26 centimeters.
While Professor Jayne acknowledges that these numbers sound pretty small, this actually equates to a 40% increase in the gap. In fact, a statement from the University of Cincinnati noted that the biggest of the snakes Jayne studied had a gape with a circumference equivalent to the waist on a 32-inch pair of jeans.
Why is this new data important?
Well, besides being terrifying, it indicates that Burmese pythons are able to consume prey of a much larger size than reptile experts previously believed.
And these snakes are much closer than you might imagine.
The snakes that Jayne captured were found in Florida’s Everglades National Park. Ranging between 15 and 19 feet in length, the massive snakes are more than capable of stretching out their jaws to eat deer, alligators, foxes, bobcats, and raccoons whole.
By stretching their jaws around animals that can be up to two thirds of their own total mass, Burmese pythons are able to consume prey that, by the human eye, looks way too large for them to tackle.
In doing so, these snakes are wiping out other animal populations.
Burmese pythons are not native to Florida, and as such are vastly disruptive to the ecosystem. Once only found in Southeast Asian rainforests, escaped and irresponsibly released pet pythons have made the Everglades their home, spelling disaster for the other animals who live there.
Though their jaws are impressive, the snakes’ insatiable hunger is proving devastating for the Everglades, as Ian Bartoszek from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida explains in the statement:
“Watching an invasive apex predator swallow a full-sized deer in front of you is something that you will never forget. The impact the Burmese python is having on native wildlife cannot be denied. This is a wildlife issue of our time for the Greater Everglades ecosystem.”
So what are scientists and conservationists doing about this slippery problem?
Well, a huge program has underway in Florida for the last eleven years. Over 120 pythons have been electronically tagged, to allow researchers to gain a greater understanding of their behaviors and habitats.
At the same time, over 770 Burmese pythons have been removed from the area, protecting the other animals and birds that live there.
This project aims to prevent further spread of the invasive species across Florida, whilst protecting the valuable ecosystems that exist there.
This research, which was published in the journal Reptiles & Amphibians further aids scientists in their understanding of the pythons and the potential impacts that they could have.
The good news? While these massive snakes continue to travel across Florida, Professor Jayne indicates that the size of Burmese pythons varies greatly – the ones that he chose to study were the largest of the bunch:
“Big pythons longer than 16 feet are very rare. Of the more than 9,000 pythons that contractors have captured in Florida, less than 1% were of that extreme size.”
The bad news? Bigger Burmese Pythons are probably out there:
“It’s almost a certainty that we have yet to capture the biggest Burmese python in Florida.”
We’re all waiting on the edge of our seats.
Inside our houses far from Florida.
Thought that was fascinating? Here’s another story you might like: Why You’ll Never See A Great White Shark In An Aquarium
