The alligator's tail was protruding from the midsection of the python and its head was missing.
"Encounters like that are almost never seen in the wild," Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency and he added that the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach, causing it to burst.
Burmese pythons, though not native to Florida, have thrived in the wet and hot climate of the area's swamps over the past 20 years. They are usually pets that have got too large and have been dumped by their past owners.
