By Dan Satherley / AP
A massive Burmese python captured in the Florida Everglades harboured a chilling secret – it was pregnant and carrying a whopping 87 eggs.
The 5.3m long snake weighed in at 74kg, and is the largest ever found in the wild.
The snakes are native to Southeast Asia but have established a population of tens of thousands in the Everglades, where the latest find was recorded Friday.
It was euthanised and is being studied at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Authorities have taken repeated steps to try and reduce the python problem in the Everglades, banning their importation and allowing them to be hunted. But those efforts have done little to reduce the population.
Their presence in South Florida is blamed, in part, by the release of snakes that people had kept as pets.
The find has astounded researchers, who say it's proof the invasive predator is going to be hard to eliminate.
"I think one of the important facts about this animal is its reproductive capability," says biologist Skip Snow.
"This shows they’re a really reproductive animal, which aids in their invasiveness."
Museum manager Kenneth Krysko called the python "monstrous", saying it was "about a foot wide".
"A 17.5-foot snake could eat anything it wants," he says. "By learning what this animal has been eating and its reproductive status, it will hopefully give us insight into how to potentially manage other wild Burmese pythons in the future."
A cold snap two years ago is estimated to have halved the number of pythons in the Everglades, but scientists believe there could still be tens of thousands of them.
This latest python will be displayed at the University of Florida's museum for five years, then returned to the park.
3 News / AP