A geoscientist and bikini model has shared disgusting footage of the moment a five foot alligator was removed from an 18ft Burmese python.
Rosie Moore, 26, and a team of scientists were seen slowly pulling the still intact gator from the monster snake’s stomach at their lab in Florida.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, she said it underscores the huge problem of invasive pythons in the Everglades, which usually prey on mammals and small reptiles.
She said they were able to perform research on the creature because it had been euthanized after being caught by field workers, which is required on sight in the state of Florida due to the predation.
‘They called us and they said there was a large object in it, we thought it was either a deer or an alligator.’
When the gator was found during a necropsy of the python, Moore said: ‘It’s definitely shocking, it was my first time ever seeing an event like that, I’ve never seen a python with something like that in it.’
The Instagram post was ‘for fun’ but she was ‘really surprised it went that viral. It honestly surprised me how little people knew about the invasive pythons in Florida and their impacts on our native populations down there.’
Moore, who specializes in spatial technology and human environmental interactions, says that it’s going to be a difficult problem to solve.
She said that knowledge of the problem has grown due to ‘a variety of things. It could just be more reporting, social media, but also the Burmese population has increased sizably.’
The pythons reproduce quickly and are able to camouflage in their surroundings, which means according to Moore: ‘It’s impossible for anybody to really know where they’re at or how many are out there.’
Moore also works on the side as a model, which she got into 2-3 years ago on freelance during the weekends and free nights through friends. Her page now has over 16,000 followers.
She said it’s important to break the stereotype of women working in geosciences, where females make up just about 30 percent of those working.
‘In media, female scientists are often portrayed as the shy, dorky characters. I think it’s important for young women to see that is not the case, and that being a scientist can actually be a cool thing to aspire to be,’ Moore said.
She added: ‘In that sense, I think I do a decent job of showing off both sides of my life and maintaining my feminine qualities while still being able to put my field gear on and go out and get dirty for some data collection.’
Given the complex problem, there aren’t a lot of simple solutions to preventing predation from Burmese pythons, with Moore joking that some people suggested to her on Instagram that ‘we throw jaguars into the Everglades to hunt them.’
Indeed, as Moore wrote on Instagram: ‘Due to the the subtropical environment of South Florida, paired with the Burmese pythons long life span and rapid reproduction, these snakes have successfully invaded ecologically sensitive areas such as Everglades National Park.
While Florida is trying to get rid of the snakes, they’re still protected by state anti-cruelty laws, so hunters must be able to prove they’ve dispatched the animals humanely.
‘This poses a threat to a variety of wildlife, due to the pythons wide dietary preferences.’
Moore’s advice is a warning to pet owners: ‘If you get an animal or reptile that you won’t be able to take care of for your whole life, you probably shouldn’t get it and if you do and can’t take care of it, you should re-home it.’
