A new record 17-foot python was captured in the Florida Everglades.
A python hunter (yes there such a thing) killed a 17-foot python Friday morning at 2:45 am in the Florida Everglades.
Jason Leon discovered the snake submerged with another small male that morning. The leviathan weighed 132 pounds.
Specifically, they were on SFWMD lands near Big Cypress National Preserve, but not in the Preserve itself.
The giant snake is the largest ever brought into the Python Elimination Program. Leon also holds the overall state record of an 18-foot, 8-inch python he harvested in 2013.
Leon said he grabbed the center of the snake first, then grabbed her head. That's when his partner shot the snake in the head. He then shot it again in the neck.
"That snake could pretty much kill any full-grown man," Leon told NBC6 in Miami.
"We're going to find a 20-footer tonight," Leon said.
The Python Elimination Program is designed to encourage licensed hunters to hunt the invasive species in order to protect native wildlife in the region.
Currently, 730 pythons have been removed since its birth in March according to the agency.
The agency pays the hunters $8.10 an hour plus a bounty for each snake. The agency budgeted $125,000, and will continue to encourage hunters until the money runs out.
Like what you see here? You can read more awesome hunting articles by Nathan Unger at the Bulldawg Outdoors blog. Follow him on Twitter @Bulldawgoutdoor, Instagram @Bulldawgoutdoors and subscribe on YouTube @Bulldawgoutdoors.
NEXT: WHY DID THE INSANELY HUGE DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKE CROSS THE ROAD?
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