Holy, Snake! 19-Foot Burmese Python — the Longest Ever Recorded — Caught in South Florida

There’s one less giant Burmese python slithering through South Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve, thanks to the feat of a 22-year-old hunter who caught a 19-foot one this week — the largest ever recorded.

If stretched vertically, the record-breaking snake would measure up about half the distance of a telephone pole, or the full height of an adult giraffe. 

Jake Waleri caught the creature on Monday and took it to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples, according to a release from the conservancy.

He ventured out with a team of python hunters and caught the apex predator, and shattered the previous state record for the longest Burmese python, which was 18 feet and 9 inches.

While the snake is the longest recorded, it did not snag the title for heaviest recorded at a mere 125 pounds compared to the record of 215 pounds caught by a conservancy team last year.

“We brought the snake to the conservancy to be officially measured and documented. We wanted to donate this find to science,” Waleri said in a statement.

The pythons are an invasive species in the state and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission does not require hunters to have permits to kill the creatures, which have no natural predators in the area.

Hunters must make sure to kill the reptiles humanely, though, to comply with anti-cruelty laws.

​​“It’s awesome to be able to make an impact on South Florida’s environment,” Waleri said in a statement. “We love this ecosystem and try to preserve it as much as possible.”

Burmese pythons prey on various animals, ranging from birds to alligators, and have been found to consume threatened and endangered native species wreaking ecological havoc in the areas they populate.