There seems to be a trend here. It started with the now infamous snake versus gator story in the Everglades. Then, three days ago a woman found a python in her yard, a bulge in its belly, and the mystery of her missing cat was solved.
Finally, yesterday, there was this story out of Miami which was in today's Miami Herald:
10-foot Python Captured After Turkey Dinner
BY SUSAN ANASAGASTI
Talk about putting on a few unwieldy inches.
The 10-foot African rock python was lean and sleek when it slithered through the fence, where it had the pick of dozens of turkeys and chickens.
But after gobbling one up, the bulge in the snake's belly prevented it from making an escape: It couldn't fit through the fence.
It would have taken the python several weeks to digest the turkey dinner, but along came Felix Azquz early Monday to feed his birds.
First Azquz noticed one of the turkeys was missing. Then he noticed the snake.
''It scared me,'' said Azquz, 77, who has owned the sprawling nursery along Coral Way and Southwest 148th Avenue for more than 20 years. ``I ran outside to call the police.''
Capt. Al Cruz, head of the Miami-Dade fire-rescue anti-venin unit, arrived about 10:30 a.m. to help remove the python from the nursery, which is surrounded by new homes.
African rock pythons, Cruz said, are not commonly found in pet shops. But about three years ago, the county caught a similar 16-foot snake on Coral Way and Southwest 147th Avenue.
''The area was vacant then,'' Cruz said. ``It's pretty ironic that the two African rocks have been found in the same vicinity.''
Snake experts dubbed the turkey-eating python Goblin, in the spirit of the upcoming Halloween and Thanksgiving season.
Goblin was taken to Sense of Wonder Nature Center and Trail at A.D. Barnes Park, 3401 SW 72nd Ave.
But he won't be there long. Cruz said the python is aggressive and has a temper.
''It launches at everything that tries to come near it,'' Cruz said.
Instead, Goblin is destined for a zoo in Central Florida.
Goblin is the second python caught near a residential area in recent days. A 12-foot Burmese python, suspected of eating a Miami Gardens house cat, also was taken to the Miami-Dade County park this week.
''The moral of the story,'' Cruz said, is that pythons ``are eating more than they can chew.''
Early Thanksgiving Dinner
Finally, yesterday, there was this story out of Miami which was in today's Miami Herald:
10-foot Python Captured After Turkey Dinner
BY SUSAN ANASAGASTI
Talk about putting on a few unwieldy inches.
The 10-foot African rock python was lean and sleek when it slithered through the fence, where it had the pick of dozens of turkeys and chickens.
But after gobbling one up, the bulge in the snake's belly prevented it from making an escape: It couldn't fit through the fence.
It would have taken the python several weeks to digest the turkey dinner, but along came Felix Azquz early Monday to feed his birds.
First Azquz noticed one of the turkeys was missing. Then he noticed the snake.
''It scared me,'' said Azquz, 77, who has owned the sprawling nursery along Coral Way and Southwest 148th Avenue for more than 20 years. ``I ran outside to call the police.''
Capt. Al Cruz, head of the Miami-Dade fire-rescue anti-venin unit, arrived about 10:30 a.m. to help remove the python from the nursery, which is surrounded by new homes.
African rock pythons, Cruz said, are not commonly found in pet shops. But about three years ago, the county caught a similar 16-foot snake on Coral Way and Southwest 147th Avenue.
''The area was vacant then,'' Cruz said. ``It's pretty ironic that the two African rocks have been found in the same vicinity.''
Snake experts dubbed the turkey-eating python Goblin, in the spirit of the upcoming Halloween and Thanksgiving season.
Goblin was taken to Sense of Wonder Nature Center and Trail at A.D. Barnes Park, 3401 SW 72nd Ave.
But he won't be there long. Cruz said the python is aggressive and has a temper.
''It launches at everything that tries to come near it,'' Cruz said.
Instead, Goblin is destined for a zoo in Central Florida.
Goblin is the second python caught near a residential area in recent days. A 12-foot Burmese python, suspected of eating a Miami Gardens house cat, also was taken to the Miami-Dade County park this week.
''The moral of the story,'' Cruz said, is that pythons ``are eating more than they can chew.''
Early Thanksgiving Dinner
