Everglades City, United States - October 28, 2024 A shocking new video from Everglades National Park captures a 15-foot Burmese python consuming a 77-pound white-tailed deer, underscoring the growing threat of invasive snakes on Florida’s native wildlife. The incident highlights findings from a new study showing these giant snakes can devour prey even larger than scientists previously believed. University of Cincinnati biologist Bruce Jayne and researchers at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida have discovered that the largest pythons can stretch their jaws up to 26 centimeters in diameter, allowing them to target massive prey such as deer and even alligators. The increased “gape” allows these snakes to prey on animals at an unprecedented scale, devastating native populations of foxes, bobcats, raccoons, and more in southern Florida. “Watching an invasive apex predator swallow a full-sized deer is unforgettable,” said researcher Ian Bartoszek. “This is a defining wildlife issue for the Greater Everglades ecosystem.” Burmese pythons, native to Southeast Asia, were introduced to Florida through the pet trade. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has removed over 770 pythons since 2013, but the snake’s capacity to eat large prey poses a growing threat to the region's delicate ecosystem. Researchers warn that if the species continues spreading across Florida and into the Southeast, native wildlife will face an unprecedented threat.