Water cobra found swallowing Burmese python

Researchers at the Miami Zoo found the body of a female Burmese python inside the stomach of a venomous water cobra in Florida.

Water cobra found swallowing Burmese python
X-ray reveals water cobra swallowing Burmese python. Photo: Zoo Miami.

Specifically, researchers implanted a transmitter into a Burmese python in Florida to study its movements in hopes of finding better solutions to control this invasive species.

However, they did not find it, but instead a native water cobra. After taking an X-ray of the water cobra, they were shocked to see that the python's spine had been digested and the tracking device was clearly visible inside the snake's body. The X-ray also revealed that the water cobra had eaten the Burmese python tail-first.

Ron Magill, director of communications at Zoo Miami, revealed that the water cobra actually swallowed the Burmese python whole in Picayune Strand State Forest in southwest Florida in May 2021.

The Burmese python is a non-venomous constrictor. In the Florida Everglades, Burmese pythons are an invasive species that pose a threat to native species. They are ubiquitous.

From July to September 2020, researchers in Florida captured and implanted tracking devices into Burmese pythons before releasing them 24 hours later to study changes in the diets of native animals due to the invasive species. One of the pythons, a 10-month-old female, was swallowed by a water cobra. The team monitored the pythons once or twice a week.

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