Python Cowboy’s dog Otto helps capture invasive snake in the Everglades

With a little help from man’s best friend, a man known as “Python Cowboy” took one less invasive python out of the Everglades.

In a video posted to X on Tuesday, with some help from his dog Otto, Mike Kimmel captured a python appearing to be over 6 feet long.

Otto saved the day. Almost called it quits pic.twitter.com/XtFA4lv4Is — Python Cowboy (@pythoncowboyirl) February 27, 2024

At the start of the video, Otto can be heard barking ahead of the snake hunter, appearing to signal he found one.

“Good boy! Good dog. Good dog, Otto,” said Kimmel.

The python was coiled up in the brush between the dense foliage.

What’s striking is how well-camouflaged the invasive python appears to be in the Everglades ecosystem. The darker-toned brown blotches with tan-colored scales help the snake to vanish into the dense foliage seamlessly.

• RELATED: Burmese python, longer than an African elephant’s height, captured in Collier County
• RELATED: Caught on camera: Python Cowboy wrangles Burmese python deep in the Everglades

Grabbing the snake by the tail, the snake wrangler brings it out of its hideout to give the camera a better look.

Then he snatches the snake from behind the neck, ensuring he couldn’t get struck.

“Everglades gold right here,” said Kimmel.

The snake had a noticeable shine, which the hunter attributed to him believing the snake must’ve recently shed.

“They don’t get much prettier than this,” said Kimmel, who makes wallets out of these snakes. “This thing will make some real pretty leather products.”

Elated by the capture, the hunter didn’t forget how the snake was found.

“Good boy,” he said, walking over to Otto. “What a good boy.”

Casually, Kimmel drops the tail from his right hand. Effortlessly, he puts the python’s head in his right hand, bends down and pets Otto on the head while giving him praise.

“Yes, sir. Good dog, Otto,” said Kimmel to his pooch.

The python then wraps up the hunter’s arm in a tight squeeze.

“If you’re not careful your whole arm will be asleep in minutes… seconds even,” Kimmel said.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Burmese pythons are one of the largest snakes in the world, growing in excess of 18 feet long.

Due to their large size, they have few predators and prey upon a variety of native wildlife. For that reason, they have devastated the Florida ecosystem. These snakes are even hunting endangered species such as the Key Largo wood rat.

Click here for more information on Burmese pythons from FWC.

Python Cowboy has posted many videos of himself catching snakes in the Everglades. He is the owner and operator of the Martin County Trapping & Wildlife Rescue in South Florida.