Florida hunter bags record 17.5 foot python

By Chris Eger

Hunter Kyle Penniston, brought in a 120-pound female this week that went 17.5-feet in length, his 235th snake caught since the program began last year. (Photo: SFWMD)
A sportsman participating in a hunt organized by a South Florida water district on invasive Burmese pythons bagged the largest ever on the district’s land.
As announced Wednesday by the South Florida Water Management District, hunter Kyle Penniston, of Homestead, brought in a 120-pound female this week that went 17.5-feet in length. The snake, while the largest caught thus far as part of SFWMD’s program to eradicate the creatures, is the third bagged that has gone over the 17-foot mark.
The water district launched the python program last March, structured to pay hunters both for their time spent on the job ($8.25 per hour, up to eight hours per day) as well as a bonus for each of the huge snakes bagged. The bounty forks over $50 for each python brought in under four feet in length with an extra $25 tacked on for every additional foot, meaning this week’s huge serpent could be worth $375. A nest with eggs is worth $200.
Hunters can go on to use the snakes’ skin but the animal’s meat cannot

Source: Guns.com