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Python swallows peacock in Florida backyard
Rhett Stanberry said the nearly 9-foot invasive snake had already eaten half the bird before he removed it by hand.
Last week, a Burmese python slithered into a Florida backyard and swallowed a pet peacock named Violet, prompting a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission agent to remove the invasive predator.
Rhett Stanberry, the FWC agent, noted that Burmese python sightings are becoming more frequent outside the Everglades as human development encroaches on their natural habitat, creating conflict between people and snakes.
The nearly 9-foot-long female python had already consumed half of the peacock by the time Stanberry arrived. "By the time that my neighbor had found the peacock, the python had already consumed the first half of it, so it was too late," Stanberry said.
Stanberry manually removed the invasive predator from the backyard enclosure. "It's hard for me to see people hurting with their pets being lost," he said, "but then I can go in, and I can remove the invasive predator."
FWC officials confirmed homeowners may legally kill invasive pythons year-round if spotted, a policy designed to manage the growing non-native population and mitigate human-wildlife conflicts.