So full it could burst, no kidding Alligator proves to be too much for python to swallow

So full it could burst, no kidding

Alligator proves to be too much for python to swallow

By DENISE KALETTE
Associated Press

MIAMI - The alligator has some foreign competition at the top of the Everglades food chain, and the results of the struggle are horror-movie messy.

A 13-foot Burmese python recently burst after it apparently tried to swallow a live, 6-foot alligator whole, authorities said.

The incident has heightened biologists' fears that the nonnative snakes could threaten a host of other animal species in the Everglades.

"It's just off-the-charts absurd to think that this kind of animal, a significant top-of-the-pyramid kind of predator in its native land, is trying to make a living in South Florida," said park biologist Skip Snow, who has been tracking the spread of the snakes.

Over the years, many pythons have been abandoned in the Everglades by pet owners.

The gory evidence of the latest gator-python encounter — the fourth documented in the past three years — was discovered and photographed last week by a helicopter pilot and wildlife researcher.

The snake was found with the dead gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor, said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it.

In previous incidents, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

"We've got not only two big things, but two charismatic mega-fauna — the Burmese python, invader of the Everglades, and the American alligator, monarch of the Everglades," Mazzotti said.

"There had been some hope that alligators can control Burmese pythons," he said. " ... This indicates to me it's going to be an even draw. Sometimes alligators are going to win and sometimes the python will win."

It is unknown how many pythons are competing with alligators in the Everglades, but at least 150 have been captured in the past two years, said Joe Wasilewski, a wildlife biologist and crocodile tracker.

Pythons could threaten many smaller species that conservationists are trying to protect, including other reptiles, otters, squirrels, woodstorks and sparrows, Mazzotti said.

Wasilewski said a 10- or 20-foot python also could pose a risk to an unwary human, especially a child.