is a tie. Clash of titan reptiles leaves python, alligator dead Thursday Oct 6 12:00 AEST The tail of an alligator protruding from the ruptured gut of a python, which had swallowed its foe alive, bore witness to a fierce and unusual battle between two of the deadliest predators in Florida's swamps. Park rangers, who photographed the remains of the two huge reptiles in the Everglades National Park, say the clash demonstrates the threat to the fragile swamplands posed by a growing population of non-native Burmese pythons. Pythons, thought to have abandoned by pet owners, have been multiplying in the large swath of swampland, and environmentalists fear the exotic intruders threaten to overrun the national park, preying on native species. RELATED LINKS * PHOTOS: Dramatic images * VIDEO: When pythons attack The latest find suggest the huge pythons might even challenge alligators' leading position in the food chain. Park biologist Skip Snow described the gruesome scene he found on September 27 in a remote corner of the Everglades park, which he said showed an almost four-metre-long Burmese python had "apparently" entirely swallowed an alligator about half his size. "I say apparently because the tail and hind limbs of the dead alligator were protruding from a hole in the mid-body of the dead python," said Snow. "Although some bones of the jaw were present, the head of the python was missing," he said in a field report, illustrated with graphic photographs. The photographs show the hind quarters of the alligator protruding from the snake's mid-section. "The stomach of the python still surrounded the head, shoulders, and forelimbs of the alligator," said Snow. "When extracted from the snake, the alligator was largely intact except for two open wounds, one to the top of the skull behind the eyes and one on the shoulder," he said adding that it was unclear how the python's gut was ruptured, or how the snake died. Park officials have removed dozens of Burmese pythons from the Everglades over the past years, and are training a Beagle, nicknamed "Python Pete," to track the exotic invaders.
I bet another alligator came along and chomped that snake a few times ~ the snakes head is missing so obviously something big came in for an easy snack.
Ya I thought that too at first. The lighter part is bottom half of an alligator. The darker part that curves around is a huge snake burst open.
Basically what you see is a snake burst open, he swallowed the gator but later exploded... you can see the gator in his busted gut.
You gotta love the weaknesses of the great alligator. Rub it's belly it falls asleep. Hilarious. Put your pinky on it's snout and it can't open it's mouth. hilarious. do neither, it will **** you up. Fascinating.
When I lived in Homestead, we had gators lounging in our backyard. It was pretty cool. I was just a boy. Came face to face with a gator once. Maybe two feet away. Jaws wide open. It ran in the other direction and so did I. Just like in movie E.T. Also saw like 10 baby alligators surface once and they were like 6-12 inches long. That was pretty neat. Saw plenty of snakes, turtles, mosquitoes, iguana, lizards, and the like in the swamp forest. You kinda just get used to them. Turtles are soooo fast. Most people have no idea. And then you start trying to catch them. That's when you accidentally come face to face with an alligator. When you're not paying attention, they show up. One time we went swimming in the everglades, where it looked like a giant pond, as it looked harmless, and the next day there they were, five of 'em, just lounging in water. We were like, ****, that was stupid. Only heard of one attack while I was down there. The thing was hiding under my friends car. He walked into his porch and that was it. He doesn't remember being attacked. Just waking up in the hospital. Life was good. I'm glad I got out alive. Most danger came from falling coconuts believe it or not. Occasionally a tree frog would crawl into the toilet. My mom was sitting there once, looked down, and there was this big tree frog loking back at her. You can't flush em because of the suction. My dad speared it with an arrow. And then had to rip it off the toilet. Onyl ran into a few big snakes. they seem to keep to themselves. But Alligators take up whatever space they want to.
