Invasive python regurgitates an invasive iguana during capture, Florida hunters say

A grisly moment recorded in the Everglades is being celebrated as evidence that Florida’s reviled invasive species are eating each other.

Trapper Mike Kimmel, known as the Python Cowboy, was leading a group of hunters on Saturday, June 29, when they honed in on a large python in the sawgrass.

Video posted July 1 on social media shows it took three men to keep hold of the tail of the 11-foot snake while another man searched for its head.

“There’s something else in here,” Kimmel can be heard saying in the video.

“Oh, an iguana he just killed! It was puking it up, dude. We walked by it as it was strangling and killing an iguana.”

The video, which contains strong language, can be seen here on YouTube.

Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia and were introduced to Florida via the pet trade, the Florida Museum of Natural History reports. The snakes are spreading north as they feed unhindered on native species, research shows.

Meanwhile, the green iguana is an invasive lizard from Central and South America that can grow to 5 feet in length, the state reports.

Both species are to be humanely euthanized when caught in the wild, the state says.

“We are continuing to show the changing dynamics of Florida wildlife,” Kimmel wrote on social media.

“Two different invasive reptiles from two different continents, battling it out on a whole other continent … pretty wild!”

He did not reveal where the video was filmed.

This story was originally published July 2, 2024 at 7:50 AM with the headline "Invasive python regurgitates an invasive iguana during capture, Florida hunters say."