A South Florida man's routine morning walk turned into a startling wildlife encounter after he spotted a massive Burmese python partly tucked beneath a sidewalk in Cutler Bay.
What made the sight even more unsettling was that the invasive snake was guarding a nest of about 20 eggs in a residential neighborhood.
What's happening?
Eyi Danielo said that, while walking on Southwest 216th Street in Miami-Dade County last Saturday, he saw one section of a large snake moving along a fence while another stretched beneath the sidewalk, The Miami Herald reported.
He recorded the scene and later posted it on Facebook with the title, "Life in South Florida."
In the clip, Danielo first says, "Oh, that's a snake right there," before stepping closer and reacting with disbelief: "That is a huge ass snake! That's a python, man. That's crazy."
After the discovery, Danielo contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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The Miami Herald reported that Guillermo Tapanes, who works with the South Florida Water Management District's python removal effort, responded and pulled the snake from beneath the sidewalk. During the capture, Tapanes was bitten on his right hand. He also removed roughly 20 eggs before they could hatch nearby.
Why does it matter?
Invasive Burmese pythons have spread across South Florida, including into residential areas.
The FWC says female Burmese pythons can lay 50 to 100 eggs in a year. Removing adult females and destroying eggs is considered critical to slowing the species' spread.
The species has already caused enormous damage to the Everglades food web by preying on native birds, mammals, and reptiles. The Miami Herald reported that more than 23,000 Burmese pythons were removed from Florida's natural environment from 2000 through 2025.
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What's being done?
State officials have funded numerous programs and public Burmese python hunts and contests to incentivize people to report sightings and to remove the rapidly spreading species.
Officials have even turned to local wildlife to help track, lure, and capture the snakes.
"In addition to protecting our native wildlife, helping our neighbors and the community is also a fundamental part of this incredible work that I have the privilege to be part of," Tapanes said after the capture.
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