Katrina Boychew, a woman residing in Florida, visited the Everglades at the end of March and witnessed a crocodile playing with its prey, a Burmese python.
Katrina Boychew shared a video on social media showing the crocodile using its powerful jaws to grip the Burmese python, according to Insider on April 6. The predator then thrashed the prey in the swamp for a while before continuing to eat it.
The footage was not shocking to Rosie Moore, a geologist living in Florida who frequently works with pythons and crocodiles. Moore explained that crocodiles shake their heads and thrash pythons to break the large meal into smaller pieces.
“I’ve personally never witnessed such a scene, but it’s not surprising for crocodiles to eat pythons. Pythons are an important food source in a crocodile’s diet. Depending on their size, the chances of a crocodile hunting a python and vice versa are about the same,” Moore stated.
Burmese Pythons (Python bivittatus) can grow to about 4.5 – 7 meters in length and can weigh up to 90 kilograms. Their primary prey includes small mammals and birds. Burmese pythons have been rampant in Florida for many years. Originally from Southeast Asia, they are an invasive species in the U.S., competing for food with native wildlife. Many native species have also fallen prey to Burmese pythons, leading to population declines. Last November, a python measuring approximately 5.5 meters swallowed an entire crocodile.
Reports of crocodiles and pythons preying on each other are on the rise, according to Moore. “This may be due to the pythons expanding their range further north, closer to areas frequented by humans, resulting in an increase in encounters and reports. Another reason is the overall increase in python populations. The situation with pythons in Florida has exceeded manageable levels,” Moore added.
