Florida is home to a whopping 1.3 million alligators and mating season is underway.
During breeding season, male gators become more aggressive and cover more ground in search of a mate or because a more dominant male has kicked it out of its territory.
Warmer temperatures also raise an alligator’s metabolism and drive to find food.
Gators are opportunistic feeders, with fish, turtles, small mammals, birds and snakes a part of their diet.
Are invasive Burmese pythons – among the largest snakes in the world – on the gator menu?
Before we answer that, let’s compare sizes:
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While female alligators rarely exceed 10 feet in length, males can grow much larger. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife, the state record for length is a 14-foot 3-1/2 inch male. For weight, the record is 1,043 pounds. Their strong jaws can crack a turtle shell.
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Burmese pythons average between 6 and 9 feet in length, but snakes up to 19 feet long and weighing more than 200 pounds have been caught in Florida. The giant constrictors wrap their coils around prey and squeeze it to death.
Do alligators eat Burmese pythons in Florida?
Yes. Alligators in Florida eat Burmese pythons and there’s proof.
In a 2023 USGS study, baby Burmese pythons were outfitted with radio transmitters. Five of the pythons were eaten by alligators.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2024, a large alligator, nicknamed “Godzilla,” was caught on video hauling a massive Burmese python through the water in the Everglades.
In 2023, a Florida woman captured video of a 10-foot alligator in the Everglades eating a large Burmese python.
In 2021, a cyclist filmed a python strangling an alligator to death in the Florida Everglades.
Do Burmese pythons eat alligators in Florida?
What’s good for the goose…
Burmese pythons have been known to make a meal of smaller alligators.
For example, a bicyclist filmed a Burmese python strangling an alligator in Big Cypress National Park.
A 5-foot alligator was found inside of an 18-foot Burmese python carcass during a necropsy.
When is alligator mating season?
While alligator courtship begins in early April, mating occurs in May or June, FWC said.
“Females build a mound nest of soil, vegetation, or debris and deposit approximately 32 to 46 eggs in late June or early July. Incubation requires approximately 60-65 days, and hatching occurs in late August or early September.”
Out of a 35-egg clutch, only about four will reach maturity.
Can I hunt gators in Florida? What to know about new Alligator Super Hunt
According to FWC, each year since 1988, Florida “alligator management units are established with appropriate harvest quotas to provide recreational opportunities for Floridians and non-residents who are at least 18 years old to take up to 2 alligators per permit.”
Applicants awarded a permit must pay for two tags and an alligator trapping license or provide proof of a license valid through the end of the alligator harvest season. A Florida hunting license is not required.
New this year, 100 permits will be awarded in a drawing for the Alligator Super Hunt, an alternative to the traditional statewide hunt, FWC announced.
A permit allows for the harvest of two alligators from most alligator management units and private property, with the owner’s permission, from Aug. 15 to Dec. 31.
Hunters pay a nonrefundable $5 fee for each application and may apply as many times as they want from May 3 through June 3.
How to live with alligators in Florida
Since alligators are found in all 67 Florida counties, chances are you’ll have a run-in with one.
FWC shared these tips to keep you and your pets safe:
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Swim only during the day and in designated areas. Pets should never swim.
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Make sure pets are on a leash and a safe distance form water’s edge.
Call FWC at 866-392-4286 to report a nuisance alligator.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida alligators eat Burmese pythons in Everglades and beyond
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