Burmese Python Found with 20 Eggs Under Florida Sidewalk

A Burmese python was discovered guarding 20 eggs under a sidewalk in Florida.

The reptile was spotted by a man walking nearby, who noticed movement under the concrete of the walkway, NBC 6 reported.

Guillermo Tapanes, who works with the South Florida Water Management District, was called to help. He told the local outlet that Burmese pythons are getting more creative with their hiding spots.

“They utilize our waterways, our canal systems,” he said. “They are very buoyant and use canals to move around. The one I found under the sidewalk is proof of how adaptable they are.”

Tapanes explained that larger female pythons can carry up to 100 eggs at a time. He recalled one instance when he found a 14-foot python with 53 eggs.

“In the month of May, we have captured 23 so far,” Tapanes said, referring to the slithery reptiles. “Since I started as a contractor, I have caught over 100.”

According to Tapanes, when Hurricane Andrew hit the southern state in 1992, a breeding facility was destroyed near Miami, releasing Burmese pythons into the wild.

However, peer-reviewed journal NeoBiota reported that Burmese pythons have been seen in the Everglades since 1979.

“When the population started to grow initially, in the 1990s, most of it was 20 miles away from that facility,” Dan Simberloff, an ecologist at the University of Tennessee, told Live Science.

“While some believe Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused the python problem, Burmese pythons had been detected here prior to that hurricane, as early as 1979. Several introduction events likely occurred in south Florida,” a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) told Live Science.

Additionally, around 17,000 Burmese pythons were imported into the U.S. between 1970 and 1995 as part of the pet trade, per Live Science. “People can get tired of having a huge snake,” Simberloff said, highlighting how owners would then release the snakes into the wild.

Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are considered an invasive species. State law requires them to be euthanized after capture.

“We follow American Veterinary Association standards for humane euthanasia,” Tapanes said. “They are not native to our area and are disrupting the ecosystem.”

The pythons, which are constantly seeking prey, have gone after pets. “We have seen them near neighborhood lakes,” Tapanes explained. “For them, it can be a cat or a dog if they are hungry.”

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Florida residents who encounter a Burmese python should report sightings immediately.