Reptile clash ends in tragedy

ALLIGATORS have clashed with pythons before in Florida’s Everglades National Park.

But when two of the reptiles clashed recently, the result was not pretty.

The 14-foot snake apparently tried to swallow the six-foot alligator whole and then exploded.

Last week a wildlife researcher discovered the python's remains with the alligator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection, its stomach still surrounding the alligator's head, shoulders and forelimbs.

Park rangers, who photographed the remains of the two huge reptiles, say the clash demonstrates the threat to the fragile swamplands posed by a growing population of non-native Burmese pythons.

Pythons, thought to have abandoned by pet owners, have been multiplying in the large swath of swampland and environmentalists fear the exotic intruders threaten to overrun the national park, preying on native species.

The latest find suggest the huge pythons might even challenge alligators' leading position in the food chain.

Park biologist Skip Snow described the gruesome scene he found in a remote corner of the park: "The tail and hind limbs of the dead alligator were protruding from a hole in the mid-body of the dead python," said Mr Snow.

"Although some bones of the jaw were present, the head of the python was missing. The stomach of the python still surrounded the head, shoulders, and forelimbs of the alligator."