World · Latin America · 18 hrs ago
Hunters catch Puerto Rico’s record 18-foot reticulated python
Python hunter Kevin Pavlidis and local group Proyectos Retic caught an 18-foot, 4-inch reticulated python in Puerto Rico.
The team tracked it into the jungle after it was reported strangling a pet cat; the cat’s fate was not reported.
The snake is the longest reticulated python measured in Puerto Rico, according to the accounts of the catch.
Reticulated pythons are not native to the island, and hunters say the population has been breeding and spreading for about 25 years.
The snakes threaten Puerto Rico’s native wildlife because they are large predators that can eat local animals.
Pavlidis and his partners are removing snakes to slow their spread, though he said eliminating the entire population may not be realistic.
They plan to keep catching snakes to limit the problem.
Hunters in Puerto Rico captured a reticulated python measuring 18 feet, 4 inches, described as the largest ever measured on the island.
Kevin Pavlidis and members of Proyectos Retic tracked the snake after it was reported trying to strangle a pet cat.
Pavlidis said it took about 20 minutes to find the python in the jungle.
The hunters are working to remove invasive pythons, which Pavlidis says threaten Puerto Rico’s ecosystem.
Pavlidis said Puerto Rico law leaves euthanasia as the only viable option for controlling the snakes.
- Who
- Kevin Pavlidis and members of Proyectos Retic captured the python.
- What
- They caught a reticulated python measuring 18 feet, 4 inches. It was described as Puerto Rico’s largest measured catch.
- When
- The catch was shared in a post on October 19, 2026.
- Where
- In Puerto Rico; the snake was tracked into the jungle after being reported behind a house.
- Why
- The hunters are trying to remove invasive pythons that threaten native wildlife and the island’s ecosystem.
Pavlidis and Proyectos Retic
Commenters defending the snake
Purpose
Pavlidis and Proyectos Retic
They say removing invasive pythons can help protect Puerto Rico’s wildlife and ecosystem.
Commenters defending the snake
Some commenters questioned why the snake had to be killed.
Disposition
Pavlidis and Proyectos Retic
Pavlidis said state law makes euthanasia the only viable option for controlling the population.
Commenters defending the snake
They opposed killing the snake, though the articles do not give further details of their views.
The python was reported strangling a pet cat behind a house, and the homeowners scared it away.
Pavlidis tracked the python into the jungle and found it after about 20 minutes.
Pavlidis shared a photo of the catch.
- Length
- 18 feet, 4 inches
- Species
- Reticulated python
- Location
- Puerto Rico
- Hunter
- Kevin Pavlidis, known online as Snakeaholic
- Partner group
- Proyectos Retic
- Search time
- About 20 minutes
3 sources
Florida python hunter catches record reticulated python in Puerto Rico after it tried to eat a pet cat
Snake Wrangler Catches Record-Breaking 18-Foot Python in Puerto Rico After It Targets a Pet Cat
Python hunters snag Puerto Rico's largest reticulated python on record after it was spotted strangling pet cat
What people are saying
It took all my tracking skills and 20 minutes of searching to find this snake down in the jungle
Removing this invasive apex predator is one more step towards restoring the delicate balance of the ecosystem out here in Puerto Rico and I am proud to be a part of this incredible conservation work!
State law provides very few options for what we can do with these snakes
It's not the snake's fault, this is yet another human error of introducing a non-native animal and @proyectoreticpr and I are doing our best to fix the problem other people created.