Two South Florida men had a thrilling encounter with one of our most notorious invasive species, the Burmese python, and they captured it all on a helmet camera.
Watch the video above.
Python hunters Ruben Ramirez and George Brana found the snake, which measured 16 feet 8 inches long and weighed 130 pounds, on a canal bank in the Everglades.
For the past seven years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has spent millions trying to eradicate the invasive species. They've fought the slithery population with python traps, snake-sniffing dogs, and even planes outfitted with thermal infrared cameras to seek out the massive reptiles.
Florida Fish and Wildlife even authorized python hunting, requiring a hunting license and wildlife management area permit. Although they remind those interested that Burmese pythons from the Everglades contain very high levels of mercury and are not recommended for human consumption.
Cheryl Millett, a biologist with The Nature Conservancy who coordinates the Python Patrol hotline and response, told KeysNet that cooler temps may mean an increase in python sightings.
"They can't stay underground and have to get into the sun to stay warm," she said.
Ramirez and Brana's python was just short of the record-breaking python caught in the Everglades in August that measured 17 and half feet and 164 pounds.
Check out photos of Florida's latest record-breaker below:
