Burmese python found eating entire white-tailed deer

March 2 (UPI) -- Wildlife biologists in Florida said they found a Burmese python eating an entire white-tailed deer -- a prey amounting to 111 percent of the snake's body mass.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida said Thursday that biologists conducting research at Collier-Seminole State Park in April 2015 found the 11-foot, 31.5-pound snake eating a 35-pound white-tailed deer.

Biologist Ian Bartoszek said the invasive snake's kill is believed to be "the largest python-to-prey ratio yet documented."

He said the snake's meal was 111 percent of its own body mass.

Bartoszek said the find represents evidence of the threat Burmese pythons pose to native wildlife.

"Imagine the potential consequences to the state and federally protected Florida panther if Burmese pythons adversely affect the number of white-tailed deer, a panther's primary prey," he said.

The researchers said their findings will be detailed in the March 2018 issue of Herpetological Review.