MYAKKA CITY, Fla. (SNN/NBC News) – A trio of Florida python hunters may have made the catch of a lifetime.
Dusty Crum is a python hunter who calls himself the "Wildman."
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"I didn't know what else to do. I put it in my mouth, and I bit down on the tail as hard as I could," Crum said of his latest trophy.
It happened around 11 p.m. last Thursday night.
"I'm driving down the levy. I got my guy Greg sitting on top, and we got a thing where we see something and he bangs on the roof," Crum said. "Immediately, I shut the truck off and stop."
"Then he comes over and grabs a tail," Morris said. "Next thing you know, it's like I'm grabbing a piece, he's grabbing a piece, and it's just going, going."
When they could see just three feet of the tail, they knew they were dealing with a monster.
"I thought it may be a 10 or a 12 feet, and I grab it and it just immediately slips out of my hands," Crum said. "It was too strong."
Their estimate was well short. The snake was about 17 to 18 feet long.