Florida

9-Foot Python Found Underneath Porch in Miami: MFR

A 9-foot Burmese Python was found slithering outside a Miami home underneath a front porch late Tuesday evening.

Homeowner Judy Tortoriello called 911 around 8:30 p.m. after she and neighbors saw that the snake was on her property in the area of Bayshore Drive and 18th Avenue. Miami Fire Rescue teams arrived to find the snake hiding underneath her front porch.

Miami-Fire Rescue venom response teams were called in to assist.

"We could see it through the slats, so we kind of knew where it was," Lt. Lisa Wood of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Unit told NBC 6. Wood said MFR and venom teams worked together to get the snake scared enough to poke its head out from under the porch, enabling them to safely bag it.

"It was scary," said Tortoriello of the ordeal. "I'm glad it's out, because I do have four cats. I don't want a snake to kill my cat or anything like that!"

Wood said the invasive Burmese Python poses a danger to small animals, but that they're afraid of humans. She told NBC 6 that it is not as common to see the pythons in this part of Miami, and that there is no way to tell whether the python was someone's escaped pet or if it made its way to the area through waterways.

The animal will be transported to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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