Python Spotted in Clam Bayou

When Trace Taylor spotted a "tremendous python" enjoying the early afternoon sun in the mangroves in Clam Bayou, she said she started him just as much as he startled her.

"We came to a circular pool area surrounded by mangroves and I saw him hanging in a branch. He hit the water, periscoped his head up about a foot and then swam away," she said.

Taylor, a Gulfport resident, book publisher and Local Voices Blogger, kayaks in the bayou often and says this time she was joined by her friends Terri and Rich, known as Chicago Rich. 

"I wasn't alarmed, but Terri and Rich were a little startled," she said.

Taylor estimates the python was about 6 to 8 feet long. Her kayak is 13 feet long and when she saw him extend and then recoil in the water, she compared the two.

"He really was spectacular. He was green with a beige underbelly," she said.

Since Taylor knows that pythons are an invasive species and pose a threat to our local wildlife, she informed local authorities.

"It was a great experience, even though he is a threat," she said.

Habormaster Denis Frain has told Gulfport Patch to have people contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission directly if they see the snake. Call the FWC Exotic Species Hot Line at 888-IVE-GOT (888-483-4681.)

Learn more about Burmese or Indian Pythons in Florida on the FWC website.