9-foot-long anaconda killed in Florida

Florida state wildlife officers shot and killed a 9-foot-long green anaconda Monday.

A concerned citizen called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission around 5 p.m. Monday and reported the large snake. Wildlife officials responded and found a large snake on the embankment of the Midway Airboat Rides in north Brevard, according to  Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson Lenny Salberg.

"We tried to contain it to capture it, but it tried to escape," Salberg said. "So we had to euthanize it. We ended up shooting it. Its a non-native species."

Green anacondas are native to South America and can grow to more than 500 pounds and almost 30 feet long. In Florida, the snake poses a risk to native wildlife.

"We won't let that snake go back in the wild, due to the ecosystem," Salberg said.

Gallery: 9-foot-long anaconda 

"They are illegal to posses," Salberg said, adding that doing so is a second-degree misdemeanor. "You can't transport them."

FWC officers checked but found no embedded microchip identifying the snake.

"We couldn't determine if it was a pet, or if somebody set it lose, or if it's been in there a while, we don't know," he said.

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