14 foot Burmese Python
 

14-foot python discovered in Florida shed eating cat skull - CBS News

Reassure me that there are no Burmese Pythons in THE VILLAGES toolsheds....

Are sheds even allowed???

Click hyperlink above to read the story.....

The following comments was posted below this story:

""Burmese Pythons have become enough well established in southern Florida that they have become self-sustaining populations.

Wildlife officials in the Everglades region believe their numbers are growing and are having a destructive impact on native critters. There is an apocryphal story going the rounds of the remains of a seven foot alligator being cut out of the stomach of one of these animals. I can't verify that, but Burmese Pythons can grow to 25 feet and 19 foot specimens have been found in Florida. It could be true.....

So how this state of affairs come about? The release of exotic pets by their owners is certainly part of the picture.

I believe the biggest driver of the population explosion of Pythons in the state came from the laying-to-waste of many reptile houses and pet stores all over the south Florida during Hurricane Andrew's romp through the region. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of snakes were released into the wild and, it seems, the Burmese Python was one of the species that survived and established.....""

It is estimated there are over 100,000 pythons in the Everglades and they are breeding! No natural enemies after their first two years of life - except for alligators.

Burmese pythons have been sighted in the wild as far north as Hillsborough County (Tampa area).

Then there are the crazies who have them as pets. Do you remember a very few years ago the couple of druggies in Oxford (just on the outskirts of The Villages) who had a Burmese python? It escaped from it's enclosure in their house and killed their 2 year old child. Both parents are now in prison for manslaughter.

Personally, I am more concerned about the Pygmy Rattlesnakes found in the tall grasses by some of The Villages golf courses.

I "hear you".........

Canadian snakes kills two brothers........today's news:

Escaped python kills 2 young boys in Canada

You are quite correct. Burmese pythons can get pretty mean as they age, so it would not surprise me if after being bitten a few times (and they are nasty bites), an owner might dump them in the wild.

Gators vs pythons
 

Hopefully the link works. Gruesome. Let me know if it doesn't.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pyth...oxd_9UYUSrM%3A