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3 deer found in Burmese python’s stomach
Snake ate 3 mammals over three-month period
Remnants of three white-tailed deer were found in the intestines of a Burmese python roaming the Everglades, researchers say, a finding that speaks to the broader impact the non-native species can have on Florida’s wildlife.
Burmese pythons are known to prey on birds and mammals, but researchers say this is the first documented case of the snake containing the remains of multiple white-tailed deer.
The large, female python was found in the Everglades back on June 3, 2013. The 15.6-foot long snake was captured and killed on sight, according to a study published in the November issue of BioInvasion Records, a peer-reviewed journal.
Scientists uncovered hair, bone frag- ments and two teeth in the fecal matter of the snake. Careful examination of the hair (which allowed scientists to identify the species of deer) and the discovery of 12 hooves and 10 dewclaws led scientists to conclude the snake consumed at least three deer.
Two of the deer were fawns, the study said, weighing 37 and 29 pounds. The third was a doe, weighing in at 99 pounds.
The python likely ate the deer over a
90-day period, Scott Boback, an associate professor of biology at Dickinson College and one of the study’s lead authors, told Live Science. That’s a “relatively short window” for a snake, he said.
“If a python is capable of eating three deer in three months, what else are they eating that we don’t know about?” he said. “We don’t even know how many of them are out there [in the Everglades.]”
Burmese pythons, which are native to southern Asia, pose a threat to Florida’s native creatures. Other studies have shown a correlation between decline in mammals — such as bobcats, rabbits, deer and raccoons — and the growth of the Burmese python population in the Everglades.
Apart from small mammals, Burmese pythons also chow down on the American alligator. The snakes began breeding in South Florida in the 1990s, after officials say Hurricane Andrew destroyed a breeding facility close to Everglades National Park and exotic pet owners released their unwanted snakes into the wild.