A clash of the titans took place last week in Florida’s Everglades, when a two-metre-long alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) took on a four-metre-long Burmese python (Python molurus). In three previous one-on-one python-alligator encounters documented by wildlife researchers, the alligator had never lost.
The python began the fight well, cornering, constricting, and swallowing the alligator. But the latter refused to quit. Even as it was being digested in the python’s gut, it managed to kick and claw the python open with its muscular back legs. Everglades National Park rangers declared the match a draw.
The picture above shows the tail end of the alligator (pointing towards the right) jutting out of the mangled python.
Alligators in the Everglades have a new challenger to contend with if they want to stay at the top of the food chain. Burmese pythons, abandoned in the Everglades by disinterested pet owners, grow up to six metres long and can weigh up to 90 kilograms.
Their slithery agility and sheer bulk make them more than a match for the Everglades’ reigning heavyweight champion, the slower, stronger and territorial American alligator, which weighs as much as 270 kilograms and grows up to 3.5 metres in length.
