Engineers working in the Everglades found a near-record-breaking Burmese python this week, according to a report by Reuters.
The python, which measured in at 18 feet 2 inches, was 6 inches short of the state record.
In 2013, a snake collector in the Florida found what is currently believed to be the largest python on record in the state, measuring in at 18 feet 8 inches, commission spokeswoman Katie Johnson said, according to Reuters.
The record breaking snake also weighed 128 pounds. A snake pregnant with approximately 87 eggs can weigh up to 164 pounds however, according to The Florida Fish and Wild Conservation Commission.
The pythons can grow to around 20 feet in their Southeast Asia habitat, though they have been invading the Florida's Everglades wetlands for a while now.
Burmese pythons mainly eat indigenous species, and some experts are worried that their diet could change the ecosystem.
The python found this week was killed, and its corpse has been transferred to the University of Florida, where it will be analyzed, according to South Florida Water Management District spokesman Gabe Margasak.
The python population in the Everglades has grown to around 150,000, according to Reuters.
Officials blame the increase in python population on pet owners who started using the wetlands as a "dumping ground" of sorts, according to Reuters.
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