[GeoStL] OT: Thank goodness we're not in Florida
- From: Ssudio@xxxxxxx
- To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 08:36:00 EDT
-
Remember this next time you're tempted to do one of those Chinese Buffets.
<G>
Python Bursts After Trying to Eat Gator
By DENISE KALETTE, Associated Press Writer
(http://news.yahoo.com/photo/051005/480/mh10310051654;_ylt=Atm5N_.N68fBwUIlmyblF2YuQE4F;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGk2OHYzBHNlYwN0bXA-)
_AP Photo:_
(http://news.yahoo.com/photo/051005/480/mh10310051654;_ylt=AmxGKSFHqXxEnppm2B3sDHkuQE4F;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGk2OHYzBHNlYwN0bXA-)
In this photo
provided by the Everglades National Park, the carcass of a six-foot...
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, six-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 means nothing in the Everglades is safe from pythons, a top-down
predator," said Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor.
Over the years, many pythons have been abandoned in the Everglades by pet
owners.
The gory evidence of the latest gator-python encounter â?? the fourth
documented in the past three years â?? was discovered and photographed last
week by a
helicopter pilot and wildlife researcher.
The snake was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its
midsection. Mazzotti 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.
"There had been some hope that alligators can control Burmese pythons,"
Mazzotti 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 the thousands of 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. He added, however, "I don't think this is an
imminent threat. This is not a `Be afraid, be very afraid' situation.'"
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press.
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