Giant Python Captured in South Florida

Residents of the Isles of Capri got quite a shock Wednesday when a 14.5-foot Burmese python decided to slither up to a local real estate office’s door.

The critter was first spotted near the doorway of Beau Middlebrook’s Sun Realty office, WTSP reported.

“I always said living on the Isles of Capri brings you closer to nature,” the Realtor wrote on his Facebook page. “Here is some more evidence of that. Yesterday Capt. Bubby Hail (Florida’s Finest Fishing) was returning to the dock from a fishing charter and spotted this 14.5’ Burmese Python catching some sun on the deck behind my office. After a few minutes, it crawled under the wooden steps to my office lanai.”

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The Isles of Capri Fire Department and a representative from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came out to catch the snake, Middlebrook reported.

Since pythons of that size are often pets, authorities scanned the snake for a microchip.

“It was not tagged so then a licensed collector came out, put it in the back of his truck and drove it home.”

Finding giant pythons is not entirely uncommon in Florida where the state has been known to run a roundup to capture the invasive creatures. This particular snake, however, is one of the larger ones found in recent history. It measures in at 2.5 feet more than a similar snake that was caught inside a Miami area family’s barbecue grill back in July. The critter isn’t the biggest ever captured, however. Back in February, an 18.2-foot snake was caught in the Everglades, according to NBC.

For his part, Middlebrook seems un-flapped by the encounter.

“I can’t wait to see what happens next,” he wrote.

Photos from the Sun Realty Facebook Page