DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - Two trappers made a colossal, record-breaking catch in the Florida Everglades.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Ryan Ausburn and Kevin Pavlidis caught a massive 18-foot, 9-inch, 104-pound Burmese Python in the Florida Everglades, last Friday.
Cellphone video showed the experienced trappers wrestling the large reptile on the edge of the Everglades, off Tamiami Trail, about 35 miles west of Miami.
“I literally reached down, and I hesitated for a second because she was so big, and I was like, ‘This is not going to be fun,'” said Ausburn.
“It was an absolute battle,” said Pavlidis. “I mean, that snake is so unbelievably powerful, you can’t even wrap your head around it.”
The trappers said they have captured plenty of these invasive reptiles over the last few months, but nothing could have prepared them for what they found that night.
Pavlidis was looking out up top, while Ausburn was behind the wheel, when the latter noticed the giant snake slithering along a tree line.
“I just saw that very distinct pattern that I’ve seen hundreds of times before, and it still didn’t register in my brain right away,” said Ausburn.
“The second I flipped around and looked, I just saw a coil like, this big, just mid-body,” said Pavlidis, “and immediately my heart just dropped out of my chest, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God. That thing is huge.'”
“My God, that thing is beautiful,” a woman is heard saying in the video.
Ausburn is seen going for the tail, while Pavlidis is seen going for the head. The duo got the massive reptile under control in a matter of minutes.
“I just kept telling myself, ‘Just a little longer, just a little longer, hang on just a little longer,'” said Ausburn.
“The situation got really, really dicey,” said Pavlidis. “I mean, that snake can swallow incredibly large — like, it’s an apex predator. That snake is old, it’s experienced, and for it to be that size, it’s never lost a battle in its life.”
Once they were able to trap the python, Ausburn and Pavlidis posed for a picture that conveys just how large it is.
“I’m not gonna lie. I damn near had a heart attack after messing, wrestling around with that thing,” said Ausburn. “I was huffing and puffing.”
“By the time we got it back to the car, that’s when I realized that my hands were shaking, and I had to play it back in my head,” said Pavlidis.
Now these two independent contractors are left with a story and a record that they won’t shake for a while.
FWC officials confirmed the size of the snake makes it a new state record. They said the catch was a joint effort from their Python Action Team and the South Florida Water Management District Python Elimination Program.
“The removal of this female snake is a triumph for our native wildlife and habitats and a great example of the partnership between our two programs working toward our goal of removing nonnative pythons,” an FWC spokesperson said.
For Ausburn and Pavlidis, their work stems from a passion for conservation, and even though it’s hard work, they said it’s a labor of love.
“They’re amazing creatures. I think if people really got to know these pythons, they are just an awesome, awesome animal,” said Ausburn. “They just don’t belong out there.”
“The situation sucks that this is an invasive species, but it doesn’t stop me from loving them,” said Pavlidis. “They’re incredible animals, and I’ve been catching snakes: big, small, venomous, non-venomous. I love them all.”
Through their joint program, FWC officials said, they have been able to remove more than 5,000 invasive pythons from the Everglades.
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