Meal time: Big-mouthed python swallows whole deer!

Florida - This female Burmese python from the US state of Florida has quite a big mouth for a snake!

To eat the deer, the snake opened its mouth a full 26 centimeters wide.
To eat the deer, the snake opened its mouth a full 26 centimeters wide.  © Ian Bartoszek, Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Researchers from theConservancy of Southwest Florida have observed a 4.5-metre-long python eating a deer weighing almost 35 kilograms whole with its mouth.

The researchers published a video of the hearty meal on YouTube at the end of last week and promptly received a lot of attention.

This incident is of particular importance to scientists because the snake opened its mouth wider than previously thought possible in order to eat.

Until now, researchers had assumed that pythons could "only" open their jaws 22 centimetres wide. In order to devour the dead deer, this specimen stretched the corners of its mouth a full 26 centimetres apart.

According to the biologist involved, Ian Bartoszek, watching such a big mouth at work is very "impressive" to watch, but at the same time it also poses a "problem" for native animal species.

With a whole deer in your stomach, you will certainly crawl much slower.
With a whole deer in your stomach, you will certainly crawl much slower.  © Ian Bartoszek, Conservancy of Southwest Florida

The Burmese python is considered an invasive species in Florida. According to environmentalists, 770 of these snakes have been removed from the ecosystem since 2013. In the press release, another researcher calculated that if every single one of them had eaten just one deer, Florida would be almost 6,000 kilograms lighterin deer, almost 170 animals .