The Asian python population has swelled over the past 20 years after owners dumped pet snakes they no longer wanted in the Everglades. "Encounters like that are almost never seen in the wild. And here it's happened for the fourth time," Professor Mazzotti said. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

"They were probably evenly matched in size," Professor Mazzotti said of the latest battle. "If the python got a good grip on the alligator before the alligator got a good grip on him, he could win." While the gator may have been injured before the battle began, wounds were found on it that apparently were not caused by python bites. Professor Mazzotti believes it was alive when the battle began. And it may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it, leading to the blow-up.

The python was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Its stomach still surrounded the alligator's head, shoulders, and forelimbs. The remains were discovered and photographed by helicopter pilot and wildlife researcher Michael Barron. The incident has alerted biologists to new potential dangers from Burmese pythons in the Everglades.

Not only can the python kill other reptiles, the snakes will also eat otters, squirrels, endangered woodstorks and sparrows. While there are thousands of alligators in the Everglades, Joe Wasilewski, a wildlife biologist and crocodile tracker, said it was unknown how many pythons there were. "We need to set traps and do a proper survey of the snakes," he said. At least 150 have been captured in the last two years.

The problem arises when people buy pets they are not prepared to care for - and a reproducing snake can have as many as 100 hatchlings. AP