A 12-foot Burmese python and its 39 eggs were captured Friday near a canal in the Everglades of Miami, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
John Hammond, a state-licensed python hunter for the FWC, found the female python lying atop the eggs. The snake was later euthanized.
The removal is part of the FWC’s Python Removal Contractor Program, which aims to manage and eliminate the non-native species from south Florida’s wildlife. The program pays experienced contractors, like Hammond, to track down and expel invasive animals from the wild.
Contractors are paid monthly and receive additional payments based on the size of the pythons they find. If a python measures up to four feet, contractors receive $50. For ever additional foot, contractors receive $25.
Hammond received $250 for the 12-foot long python.
Burmese pythons, which are native to southern Asia, have also been known to prey on American alligators and species categorized as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, according to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The FWC called the species "invasive" on its website and said it "negatively impacts native wildlife in and around the Everglades."
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In addition the Python Removal Contractor Program, the FWC has a Python Pickup Program which allows the public to report python sightings to the organization. Participants of that program are eligible for a selection of prizes.
Last year, the FWC held a "2016 Python Challenge" and 106 snakes were found during the month-long competition.
