---
title: "What the sources say about the Burmese Python | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "40 claims from the Burmese Python profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Burmese Python (*Python bivittatus*)

> 40 claims from the Burmese Python profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Burmese Python](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/burmese-python/)

## Burmese python. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/burmese-python

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A giant constrictor with stretchy jaws | Their jaw bones are connected by tissue that can separate and expand their jaws allowing them to eat an animal several times as wide as their heads. (note: tagline; jaws) |
| Jaws that stretch to swallow prey several times as wide as its head | Their jaw bones are connected by tissue that can separate and expand their jaws allowing them to eat an animal several times as wide as their heads. (note: stats.superpower) |
| Its jaw bones are connected by tissue that can separate and expand the jaws, allowing it to eat an animal several times as wide as its head. | Their jaw bones are connected by tissue that can separate and expand their jaws allowing them to eat an animal several times as wide as their heads. (note: blockquote; 'so' = the quote's 'allowing') |
| Rainforests, grasslands, swamps and marshes of Southeast Asia and southern China, often near water | Burmese pythons live in rainforests and are often associated with water or wetlands, although they survive in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, swamps, marshes and rocky foothills. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Mammals, birds and reptiles, swallowed whole | Burmese pythons prey upon mammals, birds and reptiles of appropriate size. (note: stats.diet) |
| Mammals, birds and reptiles, swallowed whole | They swallow prey whole. (note: stats.diet) |
| It eats mammals, birds and reptiles, and it swallows them whole. | Burmese pythons prey upon mammals, birds and reptiles of appropriate size. (note: body) |
| It eats mammals, birds and reptiles, and it swallows them whole. | They swallow prey whole. (note: body) |
| Pythons have no fangs. They have many back-curving teeth that grab and hold prey and do not allow escape. | Pythons are constrictors, so they don't have fangs. However, they do have many back-curving teeth that grab and hold the prey and don't allow escape. (note: body) |
| The Burmese python, Python bivittatus, is a constrictor, a snake that grabs prey and squeezes. | Pythons are constrictors, so they don't have fangs. (note: constrictor; 'grabs and squeezes' is the definition given in the prose) |
| Snakes usually have only one lung, but the Burmese python has two. The second is vestigial: it is considerably smaller and not fully functional. | Snakes usually have only one lung, but the Burmese python has two, one of which is a vestigial lung that is considerably smaller than the other and is not fully functional. |
| It has no eyelids either. A thin, clear scale covers each eye and is shed along with the rest of the skin. | They do not have eyelids. Instead, they have a thin, clear scale protecting their eyes that is regularly shed along with the rest of the snake’s skin. |
| This is one of the six largest snakes in the world. | The Burmese python is one of the six largest snakes in the world. |
| Lengths over 15 feet (4.6 meters) are common, and the average is 10 to 16 feet (3 to 4.9 meters). | Lengths of over 15 feet (4.6 meters) are common, and unverified sources claim the species can exceed 20 feet; however, the average is between 10-16 feet (3-4.9 meters) in length. (note: the unverified 20 ft claim is left out; USGS gives 20 ft) |
| In human care these pythons live about 20 to 25 years. | Burmese pythons typically live about 20-25 years in human care. (note: Smithsonian page retrieved 2026-10-11) |
| The home range covers parts of southern China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and parts of Indonesia. | Burmese pythons are found in parts of southern China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and parts of Indonesia. |
| They live in rainforests and are often found near water or wetlands, though they also survive in grasslands, swamps, marshes and rocky foothills. | Burmese pythons live in rainforests and are often associated with water or wetlands, although they survive in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, swamps, marshes and rocky foothills. |
| They were once counted as a subspecies of the Indian python. Most authorities now call them a separate species. | Once considered a subspecies of the Indian python ( Python molurus ), they are now recognized by most authorities as a distinct species. (note: scope: every figure here comes from a source naming P. bivittatus) |
| It once was. The National Zoo says it was classed as a subspecies of the Indian python, Python molurus, but most authorities now recognize it as a distinct species. | Once considered a subspecies of the Indian python ( Python molurus ), they are now recognized by most authorities as a distinct species. (note: faq 4) |
| She coils around her eggs and stays with them until they hatch, and she does not feed while she waits, which may take two or more months. | Unlike most snakes, the female coils around the clutch and stays with the eggs until they hatch. She does not feed during this period, which may last two or more months. |
| The average clutch is 30 to 60 eggs. | The average clutch is between 30-60 eggs, although they may lay as many as 100 eggs. |
| She twitches her muscles to raise the temperature inside her coils by several degrees above the air. | Burmese pythons actually “incubate” their eggs by twitching their muscles, raising the temperature within the coils by several degrees above the air temperature. |
| The National Zoo says its numbers are diminishing and that it is often killed for its skin or meat. | Burmese pythons are widespread throughout their native range, but their numbers are diminishing. When encountered in the bush, they are often killed for their skin, meat or the simple fact that they are snakes. |
| No. As a constrictor it has no fangs, the National Zoo says. Instead, many backward-curving teeth hook into prey and stop it from getting away. | Pythons are constrictors, so they don't have fangs. However, they do have many back-curving teeth that grab and hold the prey and don't allow escape. (note: faq 2) |
| twitches her muscles to raise the temperature inside her coils by several degrees above the air | Burmese pythons actually “incubate” their eggs by twitching their muscles, raising the temperature within the coils by several degrees above the air temperature. (note: vibe.reason) |

## Python bivittatus Kuhl, 1820: Burmese Python. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=2552

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The U.S. Geological Survey says the species can grow to 20 feet and weigh more than 250 pounds, with females larger than males. | Size: Can grow to 20 feet and weigh more than 250 pounds, with females being larger than males. (note: body) |
| Up to 20 feet long and over 250 pounds, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Females are the larger sex. | Size: Can grow to 20 feet and weigh more than 250 pounds, with females being larger than males. (note: faq 1) |

## Burmese Python. Everglades National Park, National Park Service.

https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/burmese-python.htm

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The National Park Service says the snakes are established in Everglades National Park due to accidental or intentional release of captive pets. | Burmese pythons are established in the park due to accidental or intentional release of captive pet animals. (note: body) |
| From people's pets. Everglades National Park traces its pythons to captive pets that were released, by accident or on purpose. | Burmese pythons are established in the park due to accidental or intentional release of captive pet animals. (note: faq 3) |

## Python Information. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/python/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| invasive in south Florida | The Burmese python is a large nonvenomous constrictor that is an invasive species in Florida. (note: stats.habitat; FWC: found primarily in and around the Everglades ecosystem in south Florida) |
| In Florida, the Burmese python is an invasive species, an animal living where it does not belong. | The Burmese python is a large nonvenomous constrictor that is an invasive species in Florida. (note: body) |

## Dorcas et al. (2012). Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1115226109

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a 99.3 percent drop in raccoon sightings | a 99.3% decrease in the frequency of raccoon observations (note: tagline; 'linked' = coincide temporally and spatially) |
| Pythons have increased dramatically since 2000. | Pythons have increased dramatically in both abundance and geographic range since 2000 |
| Road surveys in the park totaling 56,971 kilometers from 2003 to 2011 found a 99.3 percent drop in raccoon sightings, plus drops of 98.9 percent for opossums and 87.5 percent for bobcats. The surveys failed to detect rabbits. | road surveys totaling 56,971 km from 2003-2011 documented a 99.3% decrease in the frequency of raccoon observations, decreases of 98.9% and 87.5% for opossum and bobcat observations, respectively, and failed to detect rabbits. (note: 'in the park' = the abstract's 'nocturnal road surveys within ENP') |

## McCleery et al. (2015). Marsh rabbit mortalities tie pythons to the precipitous decline of mammals in the Everglades. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0120

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A later experiment moved marsh rabbits into the park. Pythons accounted for 77 percent of the rabbit deaths within 11 months. | pythons accounted for 77% of rabbit mortalities within 11 months of their translocation to ENP (note: marsh rabbits translocated to ENP) |

## Reed & Rodda (2009). Giant Constrictors: Biological and Management Profiles and an Establishment Risk Assessment for Nine Large Species of Pythons, Anacondas, and the Boa Constrictor. Open-File Report.

https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20091202

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| dangerLevel: Deadly | Unprovoked attacks on humans are largely limited to Reticulated Pythons, and only the larger Burmese/Indian and Northern/Southern African pythons have killed adult humans. (note: stats.dangerLevel; capability reading (#1273). USGS NAS: wild attacks on people are rare) |
| dangerLevel: Deadly | Although Burmese Pythons are the nonvenomous snake species most often associated with human fatalities, these generally involve interactions initiated by the pet owner (note: stats.dangerLevel; deaths are mostly captive snakes) |

## Smith et al. (2021). Native Burmese pythons exhibit site fidelity and preference for aquatic habitats in an agricultural mosaic. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86640-1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| tags: ambush-predator | Burmese pythons are ambush predators (note: tags; same paragraph: extended periods of the snake remaining stationary) |

## Stuart et al. (2012). Python bivittatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T193451A151341916.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2012-1.rlts.t193451a151341916.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Vulnerable | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). (note: stats.conservationStatus; GBIF copy of the Red List, taxon 193451; assessed 2011 (the DOI carries the 2012 edition)) |
| The IUCN Red List rates it Vulnerable. | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). (note: body) |