CBS4 (Miami, Florida) 05 October 09 Captured Monster Size Burmese Python Euthanized Reporting (Lisa Cilli)

A monster size snake which was captured over the weekend by members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's anti-venom unit was euthanized Monday despite original plans to implant the Burmese python with a GPS tracking device.

The giant snake was discovered in a field at a Southwest Miami-Dade nursery at 16400 SW 202nd Avenue on Saturday.

When Lt. Lisa Wood of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Team responded to the scene, she thought she was looking for an 8-foot Burmese Python but then quickly realized the snake was hiding and it was in fact, between 13-to-15 feet long.

Lt. Wood, along with several other firefighters, captured the snake and handed it over to Skip Snow.

Snow is a federal wildlife biologist approved to do research on these types of snakes. He had originally planned on implanting the snake with a GPS tracking device in order to track is travel and lifestyle patterns, according to MDFR.

Monday afternoon, however, Snow told CBS4's Sharrie Williams that the snake was euthanized for further research. They want to study its body more closely in order to help them with a new tracking device system. By studying the anatomy of the snake, biologists will be able to find the best location to plant a tracking device from its new system in the next captured snake. In addition, Snow said, biologists will perform a necropsy to see what its eating habits were and further study its genetics and reproduction system.
Captured Monster Size Burmese Python Euthanized

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