Donna Kalil, 60, of Kendall, Fla., a python removal agent contracted by the South Florida Water Management District, with an 8.5-foot python she caught west of Miami. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles ...

The wrangler also answered the question of the hour – what did the snake eat? “The photo angle does make the python look bigger, but I think it ate a big brush-tailed possum,” McKenzie said.

Pythons swallow deer, alligators and other prey whole. What they can eat is limited to and dependent on how big the Burmese python’s mouth opening can stretch.

Volunteer python hunter Dave Hackathorn, of Waverly, W.Va., with a 4-foot-6-inch python caught west of Miami on Aug. 9, 2022. (Gary Coronado, Los Angeles Times/TNS) Evolved over eons ...