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Greedy python explodes
06/10/2005 12:41 - (SA)
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| The alligator is shown protruding from the mid-section of the python. (AP) |
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Denise Kalette
Miami - Alligators have clashed with pythons before in Everglades National Park. But when a 1.8m gator tangled with a 3.9m python recently, the result wasn't pretty.
The snake apparently tried to swallow the gator whole - and then exploded. Last week a wildlife researcher discovered the python's remains with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection, its stomach still surrounding the alligator's head, shoulders, and forelimbs.
The incident has alerted biologists to new potential dangers from Burmese pythons in the Everglades.
"Clearly, if they can kill an alligator they can kill other species," said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor, who is concerned that the encroachment of Burmese pythons into the Everglades could threaten an $8bn restoration project and endanger smaller species.
Fighting over territory
The Asian snakes have thrived in the wet, hot climate and have battled the alligators with increasing frequency - Everglade scientists have documented four encounters in the last three years.
The gators have had to share their territory with the Burmese python population that has swelled over the past 20 years with owners dropping off pythons they no longer want in the Everglades.
"Encounters like that are almost never seen in the wild. And here we are, it's happened for the fourth time," Mazzotti said. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.
Mazzotti believes the gator was alive when the battle began. And it may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it, leading to the blow up.
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