Florida Gator Hunters Bag 12-Foot, 80-Pound Burmese Python: ‘I’ve Never Seen One That Big’

A group of Florida hunters had set out to catch alligators but instead wound up catching a massive 12-foot, 80-pound Burmese python.

On Sunday, a group of four gator hunters in Brevard County saw the snake and decided to not let the invasive species get away.

Video captured by the hunters shows Chuckie Burgess, one of the trappers, hopping a fence on the side of the road and grabbing the python by its tail. A woman is heard saying in the background, “Oh my God, you are like Florida man.”

Burgess and friend Jay Strickland were able to kill the snake before anyone could get hurt.

“I was freaking out. I don’t like any kind of snake and I’ve never seen one that big,” Carlee Strickland told FOX 35.

The group said they are used to wildlife, but this was something that they will never forget.

"We walk through grass like this, tall, all the time, and we don’t ever look for anything like that," Kaylee Stillwaggon told the outlet.

Burmese pythons are more commonly seen in South Florida, but experts said that the snakes are likely traveling north because they are running out of food.

"A lot of times, people think that they can’t withstand the cold, but they just go underground," Craig van der Heiden, wildlife director for the Miccosukee Tribe, told FOX 35. "These snakes can extend much further north than maybe we think."

The U.S. Geological Survey keeps track of Burmese python sightings and according to their records, the species is moving closer to Central Florida.

"There’s a lot of debate. Everybody’s debating, was it a pet? Are they really this far north? We don’t know just as much as anybody else," Carlee Strickland told the station.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is inspecting the remains of the snake, saying it is unsure how the snake got to Brevard County. 

The trappers said that they plan to watch where they step from now on.