A family on a boat tour of the Florida Everglades got an unexpected show Tuesday when their guide jumped into the water and began grappling with a 10-foot Burmese python.
Tommy Owen, a guide for Everglades Adventure Tours , was out with a boat of tourists when he saw the huge snake swimming through the water. His instincts took over, and Owen leapt into the water after it.
"They don't belong here and that was literally running through my mind," Owen told NBC affiliate WBBH-TV . "I launched on it, essentially ambushed it just like any other predator out
here."
One thing Owen didn't perceive, however, was the size of his opponent.
"I didn't even realize it was 10 feet -- I thought it was definitely over 6
feet, definitely bigger than me. I didn't realize it was three times the
size of my own arms."
Surprisingly, the group on the boat kept their cameras rolling, and caught the scuffle on video.
"After awhile it was just snake jujitsu -- we were just trying to battle it out -- he'd have one arm, I'd have the other," Owen said.
And he wasn't giving up the fight.
"I had to make sure I caught that one cause that's one less out there -- one less eating native species."
Burmese pythons are a non-native invasive species in Florida and have become a threat to native wildlife.
And those on the boat who were witness to the tussle? Owen believes they got a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"They'll never get a show like that ever again. That was the highlight of their life, or of their vacation for sure."
-- Kelly Burgess
