KUALA LUMPUR: A US wildlife expert and geoscientist specialising in reptiles has once again garnered attention as a video she posted of an 18-foot Burmese python has resurfaced on social media.
Rosie Moore shared a video of scientists conducting a necropsy on the python in a Florida laboratory, in which they made a peculiar discovery after feeling a large object inside the snake in November last year.
Upon making an incision, they found a five-foot alligator that was still remarkably intact despite being dead.
The Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) can grow up to 20+ feet in length, making it one of the largest snakes in the world, Moore wrote.
"This particular Python was roughly 18ft, and had consumed a five ft alligator.
"Burmese pythons are required to be euthanised in Florida. This Python was euthanised by those who found it, and turned over to a research lab for necropsy and scientific sample collection. That process is shown in this video.
"Due to the the subtropical environment of South Florida, paired with the Burmese pythons long life span and rapid reproduction, these snakes have successfully invaded ecologically sensitive areas such as Everglades National Park.
"This poses a threat to a variety of wildlife, due to the pythons wide dietary preferences."According to the National Geographic, Burmese pythons, native to the jungles and grassy marshes of Southeast Asia, are among the largest snakes on Earth.
They are capable of reaching 23 feet or more in length and weighing up to 200 pounds with a girth as big as a telephone pole. Burmese pythons are carnivores, with their diet consisting mainly of small birds and mammals.
They rely on chemical receptors located in their tongues and heat sensors along their jaws to track their prey since they have weak eyesight. The snakes use constriction as their primary method of killing, biting down on their prey with sharp teeth and wrapping their bodies tightly around it until it can no longer breathe.
Their jaws also contain flexible ligaments that enable them to swallow their food whole.