Burmese python carrying 87 eggs found in the Florida Everglades

A giant Burmese python invaded Florida’s Everglades National park. Measuring 17-foot, 7-inch snake, the largest ever caught in the wild in Florida, also carrying a record 87 eggs.

The captured of Burmese, announced Monday by the Florida Museum of National History in Gainesville.

“This thing is monstrous — it’s about a foot wide,” said Kenneth Krysko, manager of the museum’s herpetology collection, in a release. “It means these snakes are surviving a long time in the wild, there’s nothing stopping them and the native wildlife are in trouble.”

Researchers have found that the giant python “could eat anything it wants,” Krysko said. “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.’’

Population of Burmese python in Florida estimated around thousands to hundreds of thousands, the researcher said. They will also examine how to curb the spread of the python and other invasive animals.

"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," Krysko said.

After scientists are done with the record-setting reptile, it will be mounted for display at the museum on the University of Florida campus for about five years then returned for display at the park.