Shocking moment snake catchers wrestle 19ft python in Florida

This is the shocking moment a snake hunter wrestled a 19ft Burmese python said to be the longest ever found in the US.

The video, taken in the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, shows snake hunter Jake Waleri, 22, grab the 125lb python by the neck after it lunges at him with opens jaws.

Mr Waleri grapples with the python, which is as long as an adult giraffe is tall, and wrestles it to the ground as onlookers exclaim: ‘Oh my God! Let’s go!’

Another man asks: ‘Have you got tape on you, I know you carry tape,’ as they subdue the female snake and wrap tape around its jaws shortly after.

In Florida, it is legal to catch and kill Burmese pythons which have no natural predators. 

The captured Burmese python is the longest ever found in the US, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. The previous record in Florida was 18ft 9in.

Burmese pythons are one of the biggest snake species in the world and are an introduced species in the US.

They have become a serious problem in wilderness areas of Florida, where they prey on native animals like raccoons, opossums, white-tailed deer and alligators. 

The snakes have resulted in ‘severe declines’ in several native species, according to the United States Geological Survey.

They are also reported to be competing for prey with the highly endangered Florida panther, one of the rarest big cats in the world.

The captured Burmese python is the longest ever found in the US, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. The previous record in Florida was 18ft 9in

Burmese pythons are one of the biggest snake species in the world and are an introduced species in the US