14-Foot Python Found in Miami-Dade Raises Concern of "Super Snake"

The great snake scourge of the Everglades continues to thrive despite the recent cold snap and Sen. Bill Nelson's giant-snake-killing parties.During a recent sweep, state officials found five African rock pythons, including a 14-foot female in an area near the Tamiami Trail and Krome Avenue. In Africa, these pythons have...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

January 14, 2010

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The great snake scourge of the Everglades continues to thrive despite the recent cold snap and Sen. Bill Nelson's giant-snake-killing parties.

During a recent sweep, state officials found five African rock pythons, including a 14-foot female in an area near the Tamiami Trail and Krome Avenue. In Africa, these pythons have been known to eat everything from goats and crocodiles to even a few children and are meaner than the Burmese pythons that are already quite common in Florida swampland.

Oh, but the concern doesn't stop with just a meaner snake. Officials are worried that the African rocks could have some sweet, sweet snake sexing with their Burmese counterparts to create a hybrid "super snake."

[Sun-Sentinel: African rock pythons add to worries about snakes in Everglades]

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