Jason Leon was driving late at night on May 11 in a rural area of southeast Miami-Dade County when he saw about 3 feet of a snake sticking out of the bushes. Having owned and handled Burmese pythons in the past, according to FWC, Leon pulled an 18-foot, 8-inch female from the roadside. The snake wrapped itself around Leon’s leg, and he called for assistance.
He used a knife to kill the snake.
“Jason Leon’s nighttime sighting and capture of a Burmese python of more than 18 feet in length is a notable accomplishment that set a Florida record. The FWC is grateful to him both for safely removing such a large Burmese python and for reporting its capture,” said Kristen Sommers, with FWC, in a release.
The snake weighed 128 pounds and was not carrying eggs. The previous record was a 17-feet,7-inches.