7-Foot Python Hitches A Ride On Sailboat, Travels Across South FL

Miami FL

15 November, 2021

10:52 AM

Description

SOUTH FLORIDA — Forget snakes on a plane. A 7-foot-long Burmese python traveled across South Florida Friday after sneaking onto a sailboat in the Florida Keys. The snake boarded the boat in Indian Key, just outside the Everglades, and was discovered after the boat docked at Rose Marina in Marco Island Friday, the marina shared on its Facebook page. "Well, this was a first! A visiting 42-foot sailboat found an unwelcome stowaway moments after tying up in their transient slip," the marina wrote. "We believe the 7-foot python slithered aboard about 20 miles south of Rose Marina when the vessel was at anchor (Thursday) night near Indian Key (on the edge of the Everglades)." Related Story: Python Huntress, Fashion Brand Forge Unlikely Partnership The boat was operated by a Chicago couple, Jim Hart and Sandy Skwirut, who were traveling through Florida, WINK News reported. The snake surprised Skwirut while she was showering. "In a shower? Yeah, no," Skwirut said. Hart added, "Those things just don't happen, but I guess they do." Marco Island police responded to Rose Marina and captured the snake. They released it to local wildlife handler Bobby Monroe. The vessel was removed from the marina "out of an abundance of caution," Rose Marina added. Burmese pythons are an invasive species primarily found in and around the Everglades, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Most of these snakes found in the Florida wild range from 6 to 10 feet long, though they commonly reach 18 feet long and can weigh more than 100 pounds in their native ecosystems in Asia. The snakes are a threat to native wildlife and can be humanely killed on private lands with landowner permission. Pythons may also be killed at any time of year in 25 wildlife management areas, the FWC said.