Dusty Crum heard someone yelling the snake was in the water, but he couldn’t see it.

With only a first quarter moon lighting the tangled Everglades, Crum dove in blindly. He grappled with the nearly 17-foot cord of muscle, wrapping his legs around its slick scales. When it began slipping away, only one option remained to keep his prize. He bit down on the python’s tail and held on.

Crum’s nickname, after all, is "Wildman."