Scientists can't believe this Burmese python swallowed a whole deer!

Florida - This female Burmese python has quite a big mouth for a snake. Talk about biting off more than you can chew... she took down a whole deer!

To eat the deer, the snake opened its mouth a full 10.2 inches (26 centimeters) wide.
To eat the deer, the snake opened its mouth a full 10.2 inches (26 centimeters) wide.  © Ian Bartoszek, Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Researchers from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida have observed a 4.5-meter-long Burmese python eating a whole deer weighing almost 77 pounds.

The researchers published a video of the hearty meal on YouTube recently 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.

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Researchers had previously assumed that pythons could "only" open their jaws 8.7 inches (22 centimeters) wide, but in order to swallow the dead deer, this specimen stretched the corners of its mouth a full 10.2 inches (26 centimeters) apart.

According to conservancy wildlife biologist Ian Bartoszek, watching such a big mouth at work is very "impressive" to watch.

At the same time, however, it also poses a problem because 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 each one had eaten just one deer, Florida would have lost almost 13,000 pounds of deer.

Cover photo: Ian Bartoszek, Conservancy of Southwest Florida

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