Cottonmouth snake eats Python in Florida - Photo

Cottonmouth snake eats Python: A cottonmouth snake ate a python that had its tracking transmitter implanted in Florida. The Miami Zoo made the discovery while tracking the transmitter. The tracking transmitter was installed on the spine of the Burmese python. 

The tracking transmitter in python was implanted by surgeons at Zoo Miami. I shared an X-ray photo of a cottonmouth snake in the blogpost. It shows the snake's belly with the python inside. The transmitter of the python could also be seen in the photo. 

"You may have heard in the news about the bobcat that was documented stealing and consuming eggs from an invasive Burmese python in the Everglades. But, that isn't the only native species that is fighting back! A python that had its tracking transmitter implanted by surgeons at Zoo Miami was recently found to be consumed by another snake; a native cottonmouth, also known as a water moccasin. You can see the spine and the transmitter of the python inside of the cottonmouth on this x-ray, or radiograph, that was taken at Zoo Miami's animal hospital," the Miami Zoo said in a Facebook post.

The radiograph was taken at Zoo Miami's animal hospital.

Pythons in Florida include Alligator Mississippiensis, Drymarchon couperi, Crocodylus acutus, Lynx rufus and possibly Ursus americanus floridanus.

Burmese pythons use a wide variety of Florida habitats and are considered semi-aquatic in that they are associated with freshwater wetland habitats in their native and invasive ranges.

"Despite the relatively large size of a neonate python, our findings indicate they are vulnerable to predation by Florida Cottonmouth," said a research paper shared by Miami Zoo on its Facebook page.