The Florida Everglades is one of the country’s greatest natural wonders.
Visitors never know what they will see in the vast swamps.
And a video from the Florida Everglades showed one scary sight that left tourists stunned.
Alligator drags a massive Burmese python past tourists in the Florida Everglades
The Everglades National Park is the largest national park east of the Mississippi River.
As one of the most diverse ecosystems in the United States, the park has a wide variety of animal life.
A group of visitors to the national park on Thanksgiving Day were greeted with a shocking sight.
An alligator was swimming in one of the swamps with the carcass of a massive Burmese python in its mouth.
The most Florida video you’ll see today 🐊🐍 An alligator was spotted dragging a massive python through the water at Florida’s Everglades National Park. pic.twitter.com/hMYDc91G1r
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) December 3, 2024
The video was taken by Everglades National Park tour guide Kelly Alvarez in the 70-foot-high Shark Valley Observation Tower.
“I was answering questions when I heard a child scream, ‘What is that?! At first, while my eyes were trying to focus on what I was seeing, I thought it was a log,” Alvarez told McClatchy News.
“I was shocked and absolutely amazed when I realized what it was,” Alvarez continued. “My entire tour had the amazing pleasure of being able to see it. They were all shocked, some were disgusted, the children were very excited.”
Alvarez said that the bloated state of the python meant that it had been dead for a while.
The snake’s head was missing which indicated that it might have gotten into a fight with the alligator.
“Usually, once an alligator has prey in his mouth, it’s more than likely not getting out,” Alvarez explained.
The alligator swam to a spot underneath the observation tower to sunbathe.
Rare big alligator versus snake battle
Burmese pythons are invasive species to Florida that have taken up residence in the Everglades.
They were brought to the country as part of the pet trade and some of their owners released them into the wild after they got too big to care for.
Pythons can grow to be 18 feet long while alligators as long as 15 feet have been spotted in the Everglades National Park.
Alvarez estimated that the alligator carrying the python was 12 feet long.
The alligator and another smaller one feasted on the python for Thanksgiving.
It took three days for the entire snake to be consumed because of its massive size.
Alvarez said it looked like the alligators were “in a food coma” after their Thanksgiving meal.
Regular Everglades visitor Alison Joslyn told McClatchy News that the smaller alligator was stuffed to the gills.
“That (smaller) gator was bulging at the sides and could hardly be bothered to open an eye as people stopped to look,” Joslyn said.
“The snake carcass was floating in the water maybe 5 to 8 feet further along the trail,” Joslyn continued. “Various people had spotted the snake in different places following Thursday. At one point it was on the path to the tower, at another point it was over by the Porta Potties.”
The Florida Everglades is a national park unlike any other in the United States.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments to this ongoing story.
