Record 17-foot python caught in Florida Everglades may signal new way to fight the giant snakes

A more than 17-foot female python became the largest ever caught in northern part of the Florida Everglades last week and may herald a new way of fighting the massive invasive snakes.

The Big Cypress National Preserve, located in Collier, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties in South Florida, posted the news about the python’s capture on its Facebook page Friday. It also noted the 140-pound snake was carrying more than 70 developing eggs — so, in effect, the capture helped eliminate 74 pythons from the Everglades.

“She is the largest python ever removed from Big Cypress National Preserve — and she was caught because of research and a new approach to finding pythons,” the park posted.

The park explained the new process to hunt the non-native snakes involves outfitting male pythons with radio transmitters, “which allows the team to track the male to locate breeding females.”