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Ian Bartoszek, wildlife biologist and environmental science project manager for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida speaks with the media Wednesday, June 22, 2022 about how he and his team captured the largest invasive Burmese python to date in Florida (Image: Andrew West-USA TODAY NETWORK/Sipa USA /AAP Image)
Here in Oz we’re used to ginormous spiders, crocs and snakes. But this python takes the cake!
(Would pythons eat cake? I guess they’re allowed to eat whatever they want, who’s going to stop them?!)
This massive Burmese python was found in the American state of Florida and is nearly 5 metres long, weighing 98 kilograms and was pregnant with an astonishing 122 eggs.
She’s the heaviest Burmese python ever found in the area and it’s also the most eggs ever found in a python.
The female was discovered by a team of scientists from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida who’ve been tracking pythons in the area for 10 years and removing them from the environment.
Pythons are an invasive species in Florida that devastate the native wildlife, eating animals like rabbits and deer that the endangered Florida panthers should be eating instead.
(Woah, panthers!? Would you rather do battle with a panther or a python? Surely a python right?)
Biologists Ian Bartoszek, right, and Ian Easterling, centre, with intern Kyle Findley with the python (Image: Conservancy of Southwest Florida via AP)
Turns out pythons aren’t actually interested in humans, “but it’s still scary to wrestle with a snake of that size and tell about it,” said project manager Ian Bartoszek from the team.
Biologist Ian Easterling, who helped capture the python and is trained in dealing with them, explained that they were following a scout snake and heard a rustle and saw the female.
“We just jumped on and grabbed a hold of it, tried to restrain the head to prevent her from biting us,” Mr Easterling explained. “And then probably wrestled her for about 20 minutes.
“She was very strong swinging her body around, she took her tail - actually seemed to like ball it up, it felt like in a fist - and swung at [intern] Kyle. He was able to dodge it but I looked right into it and she hit me square in the nose.”
(So there you go, a punch in the nose is better than getting mauled by a panther, am I right?)
Despite the need to remove and humanely euthanise the pythons, Mr Bartoszek said they have a lot of respect for these animals. “It’s a beautiful creature any way you look at it and they're here through no fault of their own.”
He predicted the python they captured could’ve been living in the area for up to 20 years and was likely intentionally released or an escaped pet.
“There’s no machismo factor on this,” he said. “We know that we removed another big egg laying female from the equation and it’s about how much science we can get from this animal.”
If you want to learn more about the conservation work being done around Burmese Python research and removal, check out this video:
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The trailer for the final two episodes of Stranger Things 4 is here and things are looking grim
The finale of Stranger Things Season 4 drops on Netflix on Friday 1st July and the trailer has given us goosebumps with its intensity and emotion.
The mood of the final two episodes is perfectly set with a dark, drum-fuelled remix of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill mashed up with the Stranger Things theme through the trailer.
There’s a very real sense of foreboding as the gang prepare for an epic battle against Vecna and given the words spoken by various characters, we’re not sure anyone is safe.
Dr Martin Brenner warns Eleven that Hawkins will fall, that her friends are "not prepared for this fight".
The usually positive Robin says: "I have this terrible feeling it might not work out for us this time." She’s looking at Steve, and we hope that isn’t pointing to his demise.
Indeed, Noah Schnapp, who plays Will, revealed that certain characters will meet their ends in the final two episodes of the season during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
"He’s not going to stop, not until he’s taken everyone," Will tells Mike.
The Season 4 finale will air across two episodes, but don’t despair, they’re each movie length. Episode 8 is 1hr 25mins while Episode 9 is an epic 2hrs 30mins, so the wrap-up of the story will not be rushed.
Check it out:
We’ll probably need time to sit and recover emotionally when it’s all over.
Though maybe we'll dive straight back to the beginning and start rewatching Season 1 to keep the Hawkins gang in our lives.
Season 5 has been given the green light, so we’ve got that to look forward to, though the Duffer Brothers have said it will definitely be the last season. Prepare yourself now.
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Q. What’s worse than seeing a massive huntsman disappear into a dark corner of your car?
A. Having it reappear on the windscreen in front of you as you’re driving!
Spiders are scary at the best of times, so imagine how you’d react if one jumped out at you while driving down the road.
Melbourne DJ Nath Jennings filmed this exact situation and the video has gone viral on TikTok for all the reasons you’d expect.
The video uploaded to his TikTok with the caption 'How would you react?' shows a giant huntsman spider on the inside of the windscreen right in front of Nath's girlfriend Millie as she is driving.
Millie’s holding her jumper to her mouth - and for good reason. Those spiders like to jump!
Nath zooms into the leggy arachnid and you can see its eyes and fangs glowing before he pans to his friends laughing in the back seat.
Don’t,” you can hear Millie say, “It will jump at you!”
@nathjennings Spiders 🥶 #spiders #driving #scary #phobia #huntsman #australia #freaky #spider #car #spook #drive ♬ La Canelera - Los Capos De Mexico
How would you react?
One brave commenter said, “Perfectly fine. He can stay there. I don’t mind spiders”. But the rest reacted like most sane people would in that situation.
“OHH HEELL NAAAHHHHH.”
“I would cry and jump out of that car.”
“i would crash.”
“omg this happened to my dad and uncle and they both jumped out of the car will it was moving.”
“At that point [just] burn the whole car.”
Terrifying and funny at the same time
Nath told us they knew the huntsman was harmless and wasn’t going to hurt them or bite them, but what made the situation so scary was the thought of the spider dropping onto Millie’s lap or jumping onto her face and causing an accident.
It turns out the spider had been hiding out for months waiting to pounce.
Nath said he and Millie had first seen the huntsman several months ago when it appeared in the back windscreen of the car also while they were driving. They searched for it but couldn’t find it.
Millie's got nerves of steel!
The footage in the TikTok video happened recently when Nath, Millie and their friends Jamie and Keith were heading out to a restaurant to celebrate Jamie’s birthday.
"Millie kept pretty cool,” said Nath. "Because she knew the spider was in the car, it wasn’t like an unexpected thing, but it was still a shock."
It was only an 8 minute drive, so when the huntsman appeared, they decided to keep driving, knowing they’d be at their destination soon enough.
Then the spider made its way across the windscreen and sat right above Nath for a good five minutes, basically the rest of the trip.
"I’m sitting there thinking, if this thing just falls, if this thing drops onto my leg," remembered Nath. "Even just talking about it again it gives me creepy crawlies. It’s not nice."
Thankfully the huntsman stayed stuck to the windscreen above Nath and didn’t go further. When they go to their destination, Nath flew out of the car. "I was like, nah, my heart was beating, I got out of there as quick as I could."
Their friend Keith collected the spider in a cardboard box and released it into the wilds.
"We found the humour of it,” said Nath. “It’s a harmless animal to us but it’s still pretty crazy."
(All images used with permission - www.nathjenings.com)
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We all felt the pain when Neil Diamond announced his retirement in 2018 after cancelling his tour dates in Australia and New Zealand due to his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
But we are in for a treat, as the singer performed a heart-warming impromptu version of one of the most powerful "sing-along" songs of all time, “Sweet Caroline" in a rare public appearance at June 18's Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox have a long history with the song as it went from being played on the loudspeakers for a friend who had a baby named Caroline in 1997 to becoming an anthemic tradition during every 8th innings they play.
For this special occasion, Neil Diamond came out to sing during the 8th inning of the game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He had last performed at Fenway Park almost a decade ago in 2013.
In the video, we see someone else alongside Diamond performing the song. It's actor Will Swenson, who just happens to play the lead role in "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical".
For those of us who had tickets and were ready to see him in Australia, it's actually a beautiful moment to see Neil getting so much deserved attention while attending his beloved "Red Socks".
Watch the “Sweet Caroline” performance at Boston’s Fenway Park via the MLB Fox Sports Channel below.
Neil Diamond singing "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park is incredible 🎤 🙌 pic.twitter.com/P1yRDJR5ho
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 19, 2022
In case you were wondering, the performance must have had a profound impact on the team as the Boston Red Socks won over the Cardinals 6 -5
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