Pet Python Strangles Florida Toddler

A 2 year old Oxford, Florida girl was strangled on July 1, 2009 by a pet 12-foot albino Burmese python that escaped from a holding tank in the child's home.

The snake's owner, a boyfriend of the child's mother, found the python on top of the girl. The owner stabbed the snake, but the child was already dead when emergency crews arrived. The owner could face child endangerment charges.

"This is very rare," a representative of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission told reporters. State officials say there may be as many as 150,000 Burmese pythons living in the wild in the Everglades, where they have no natural predator. Wildlife experts say the population grew from snakes dumped in the fragile wetlands by pet owners who no longer wanted them and pose a significant threat to native species. The pythons can grow to more than 16 feet, live for 30 years and eat wading birds and small animals.

Source: reuters, Photo: ap