According to US officials, biologists recently captured the largest Burmese python in Florida.

According to a news release from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the female python weighed 98 kilograms, measured about five meters in length, and contained 122 developing eggs.

According to Ian Bartoszek, wildlife scientist and environmental science project manager for the conservancy's initiative, the team implanted radio transmitters in male "scout" snakes to examine python movements, breeding activities, and habitat utilization.

"How does one locate the needle in a haystack? You could employ a magnet; similarly, our male scout snakes are drawn to the largest females in the area "Bartoszek stated.

In the western Everglades, the crew utilized a Dionysus — or Dion for short — snake as a scout.

The team discovered him with the largest female we've encountered to date.

Biologist Ian Easterling and intern Kyle Findley assisted in capturing and transporting the female snake through the forest to the field truck.

The presence of hoof cores in the snake's digestive system indicates that an adult white-tailed deer was its final meal.

National Geographic reported on the discovery, underscoring the ongoing impact of the invasive pythons, which are notorious for their quick reproduction and depletion of native fauna.

Bartoszek stated that removing female pythons is essential to breaking the reproductive cycle.

"This is the wildlife issue of our time for southern Florida," he stated.

Since the program began in 2013, over 1,000 pythons have been removed from around 25,900 hectares in southwest Florida.

Throughout this distance, necropsies have uncovered dozens of white-tailed deer within Burmese pythons. Researchers from the University of Florida have discovered 24 species of mammals, 47 species of birds, and two species of reptiles in the stomachs of pythons.

Before the new find, according to officials, the heaviest female python captured in Florida weighed 84 kilograms and was removed through the conservancy's program.

In August, the state's python removal campaign runs for two weeks. The participant who captures the most pythons will receive a reward of $3,627 (US$2,500).

More than 600 individuals from 25 states participated in the previous year's competition.