Burmese python caught swallowing full-sized deer proves the invasive snakes are eating bigger native prey in Florida, study says.

The constrictors have few predators and prey on native species, eating just about anything ... and marsh and cottontail ...

Pythons swallow deer, alligators and other prey whole. What they eat is limited in part by how big an animal they can wrap their flexible, stretchy jaws around. Researchers call this the snake's gape.

The Burmese python — an apex predator that can grow over 18 feet long and eat animals larger than itself — has decimated native wildlife throughout much of South Florida.

The post New Research Shows Burmese Pythons Can Eat Much Bigger Prey Than Ever Before, And Hundreds Of Them Are Living In The Everglades first on TwistedSifter.

The scale at which the Burmese python is able to decimate the native wildlife population in South Florida continues to astonish biologists studying to eradicate the invasive species.

WATCH: Burmese python swallows 77-pound deer, proving they can eat bigger prey than scientists realized ...

Can you eat pythons? Florida snake hunter prefers his ground up like hamburger, however state recommends NOT eating the ...

A new study conducted by biologists with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida reveals that Burmese pythons are capable of consuming larger prey than scientists realized.

South Florida is home to two particularly problematic invasive species: Burmese pythons and green iguanas. The pythons live ...

Burmese python caught swallowing full-sized deer proves the invasive snakes are eating bigger native prey in Florida, study says.