The Burmese Pythons were first found in Florida in the 1980s, although they are originally native to Southeast Asian rainforests. The Burmese Python primarily inhabit Florida due to illegal exchanges of exotic pet trading. Python bivittatus, also known as Invasive Burmese Pythons, are devastating Florida due to population increase and intentional releases from careless owners.

Many exotic pet collectors were interested in these non-venomous impressive snakes; however, many of them found it too difficult to keep up with their dietary necessities and found it challenging to recreate their natural habitat, causing them to release these snakes into the wild.

Their population eventually boomed due to the warm, moisture-retaining, and humid environment of the Floridian Everglades. This environment closely mimicked their natural habitat, providing an ideal acclimating habitat for reproduction and survival. With plenty of choices as their prey and not much competition for shelter and food, they quickly became the apex predators, and as a result, Invasive Burmese Pythons are devastating Florida now.

Burmese Pythons’ Giant Gape: The Secret to Their Apex Predation in Florida

These snakes are known for their amazingly large ability to swallow anything as they can easily confuse their lower jaw, creating an easy mechanism large enough to swallow a deer whole, especially compared to snakes of a similar size.

A study titled Big Pythons, Big Gape, and BigPrey, published in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians, found why the Burmese Pythons are the main predators of Florida: their schooling large Gape. University of Cincinnati biologist Bruce Jayne, along with colleagues Ian Bartoszek and Ian Easterling, conducted a study on three Burmese pythons captured in the vicinity of Florida’s Everglades National Park.

These snakes measured 15, 17, and 19 feet in length. Previously examined Burmese pythons were found to have a gap width of 22 centimetres (8.7 inches). However, according to a statement from the University, “the largest of the snakes captured by Jayne’s research team had a maximum gape width of 26 centimetres (10.2 inches).”

Their exceptional size allows them to feast on prey up to six times larger than other snakes, making them Florida’s apex predator. They are creating a correlation and understanding between the incredible size of the snake and their overwhelming jaw strength.

This allows them to consume meals equal to their body weight. They have been recorded to swallow even deer whole, weighing up to 77 pounds, opening up their jaw to an impressive 93% of their gape capacity. The Invasive Burmese Pythons are born 2 feet long and can grow up to nearly 20 feet as adults.

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Ecological Disruption and Losses

Due to the python’s invasive nature, several mammal populations they prey on regularly have plummeted to over 90%. Unfortunately, they even feed on protected species, including wood storks and Key Largo woodrats. With the ability to consume prey larger than them, these constrictors have devastated the native populations of racoons, opossums, bobcats, native birds, and even the American alligators.

The government had to intervene as Florida added Burmese pythons to the Prohibited Nonnative Species List in 2021 and paid bounty hunters to remove them. With their fast reproduction and high survival rate, eradicating Burmese pythons from Florida remains daunting.

According to the statement, Jayne expressed concern over the pythons’ immense ability to consume large prey, especially if they expand their range to other areas of Florida and possibly the broader Southeastern United States. “Burmese pythons are appearing in more locations across Florida,” he noted.

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