Biggest Burmese python ever found in Florida goes on display

• The Burmese python measured 17 foot 7 inches and weighed 164.5-pounds

• Python’s have grown in numbers over the last 30 years due to having no natural predators

• Burmese pythons thought to have been introduced to the area as discarded pets

The numbers of deer, raccoons and opossums in areas heavily populated by the snakes dropped by 90 per cent with rabbits and foxes vanishing altogether.

The python was found to be pregnant with 87 eggs after being dissected by Florida scientists.

The predator has tightened its grip on the ecosystem, with the population estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.

Kenneth Krysko, herpetology collection manager at Florida Museum of Natural History, said: “This thing is monstrous. It’s about a foot wide.

“It means these snakes are surviving a long time in the wild. There’s nothing stopping them and the native wildlife are in trouble.

“A 17.5-foot snake could eat anything it wants.

“By learning what this animal has been eating and its reproductive status, it will hopefully give us insight into how to potentially manage other wild Burmese pythons in the future.

“It also highlights the actual problem, which is invasive species.”

Non-native species are defined as “invasive” if they have a negative impact on native species or habitat, cause economic damage or pose a threat to human health and safety.

Mr Krysko says that while Burmese pythons used to be rare, it is now not uncommon to see at least one every day on the Everglades with the scientist spotting 14 on one occasion.

Last year a smaller python was caught with an 80-pound doe inside it.

People are now banned from owning Burmese pythons as pets or transporting the snakes across state lines without a federal permit.