by Burmese python ʟᴀᴄᴇʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ its stomach while ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴜʀɪɴɢ 2-meter short-snouted crocodile
The python began to ᴇᴀᴛ the American short-snouted alligator carcass and was about to swallow it whole before bursting its stomach. Managers witnessed an encounter between a python and an alligator in a remote area of the Everglades National Park in Florida. Finally, the crocodile’s massive body protrudes from the center of the python’s swollen belly above the water.
Unfortunately for a 13-foot (4-meter) Burmese python in Florida’s Everglades National Park, ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ the ᴇɴᴇᴍʏ seems to have caused the ᴠᴏʀᴀᴄɪᴏᴜs reptile to ʙᴜsᴛ a gut—literally. Burmese pythons ʜᴜɴᴛ by relying on their ᴘʀᴇʏ’s heartbᴇᴀᴛ, so the crocodile can trick the python into thinking its target is lying motionless. It appears that the crocodile ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ the opponent from the inside after having its head, shoulders, and front legs swallowed. The ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ was so strong that the python ʙᴜʀsᴛ its stomach and both animals ᴅɪᴇᴅ in the water. Clashes between alligators and pythons have been on the rise in the Everglades for the past 20 years. Unwanted pet snakes dumped in the swamp have thrived, and the Asian reptile is now a major competitor in the alligator’s native ecosystem. The increase in invasive python populations is linked to the international pet trade, with owners often releasing pythons into the wild if they are large enough. Crocodiles have a 4-chambered heart that allows them to push out the air so they can sink into the water, reducing oxygen consumption. A small opening called the Foramen of Panizza in the center of the left and right aorta allows air to be pushed through while submerged and helps lower the heart rate.
The ɢʀᴜᴇsᴏᴍᴇ discovery suggests that the python’s feisty last meal might have been simply too much for it to handle. Photos of a python using its muscular strength to ᴄᴏɴsᴛʀɪᴄᴛ and sᴜꜰꜰᴏᴄᴀᴛᴇ a crocodile while using its jaws to ᴄʜᴏᴡ on the head had crᴇᴀᴛed a buzz on social media. The photos showed how the shape of the snake changed as it sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ the croc completely.
