This is the nightmarish moment a huge python was found swallowing a deer in Florida.

Footage captured by staff at the Everglades National Park shows a 15ft female Burmese python devouring the 77 lbs white-tailed deer near Naples.

Wildlife workers said the incident highlights findings from a new study published in the Journal of Reptiles and Amphibians, which shows how the invasive reptile, which is not native to the region, can eat prey larger than 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 centimetres in diameter, allowing them to target massive prey such as deer and even alligators.

This increased jaw 'gape' enables these snakes to hunt unprecedentedly, devastating native populations of foxes, bobcats, raccoons, and more in southern Florida.

Researcher Ian Bartoszek said: 'Watching an invasive apex predator swallow a full-sized deer is unforgettable.

'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 more than 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.