ORLANDO (USA), Aug 14: A Burmese python found in Florida set records as the largest such snake ever captured in the state at 17-feet, 7-inches (5.36 metres) and the most prolific reproducer carrying a record load of 87 eggs, according to researchers.

The previous Florida record setters were a 16-foot, 8-inch python (5.08 metres) and 85 eggs.

“It was huge,” said Paul Ramey, spokesman for the Florida Natural History Museum at the University of Florida in Gainesville. To perform the necropsy, researchers “had to put three tables together and it took at least four people to pick it up and get it on the tables,” Ramey said on Tuesday.

Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia. The snake was captured in April in the Everglades National Park by researchers studying the impact of the pythons on native species. The eggs were discovered on Friday, university researchers said in a statement.

Ramey said Burmese pythons in the wild in Asia are known to reach 20 to 25 feet in length, so researchers fully expect that eventually someone will find a 20-foot Burmese python in Florida.—Reuters