A python ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ caught a monstrous 16-foot pregnant snake with his bare hands. Dusty “The Wildman” Crum managed to wrestle and overpower the creature in the Florida Everglades, and found it was pregnant and carrying a total of 78 eggs.
Everglades National Park is facing an invasion from Burmese pythons, one of the largest snake species on Earth. The adaptable reptile has ᴅᴇᴄɪᴍᴀᴛᴇᴅ wildlife, eating anything from birds, to mammals and even alligators.
Dusty caught the python as part of the “snake ᴇʀᴀᴅɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ project” being operated in the Everglades, in a bid to rid the area of the ɪɴᴠᴀsɪᴠᴇ and evasive species. Having already caught a 14ft 6in Burmese python last month, Dusty was gaining a reputation as an expert catcher.
But his latest find turned out to be the biggest ever captured in the Everglades at 16ft 10in. The python ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ proceeded to catch the reptile bare-handed, Dusty said his efforts were “like Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan, Wrestlemania!”
“I was driving by and caught a shimmer of something,” Dusty said. “I thought it was an empty water bottle or something reflecting off the sun. When I stopped, I could see it was a big snake.” “It’s a ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ with heavy weights,” Dusty said. “The snake is all strong, 130 pounds of muscle.” Fortunately, Dusty said a python doesn’t have much endurance and will tire after ꜰɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ for a couple of minutes.
The python’s capture means that dozens of other snakes will not exist as 78 eggs were taken out of the animal. And his ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs endeavours are handsomely paid at £6.30 an hour on top of £40 for a beast over 4ft long and £20 for every foot above that.
It meant Dusty netted a cool £300 from sɴᴀʀɪɴɢ the snake – and will double that by selling the skin. But even better, he will receive £80 for every egg he found with the snake — and this record-breaking python was pregnant with 78, adding on a whopping £6,240 to his earnings.
“Well, we are making the difference by taking the eggs out of the eco system”, Dusty said.
