Python hunters snag Puerto Rico's largest reticulated python on record after it was spotted strangling pet cat

Working with Proyectos Retic, a group of python hunters in Puerto Rico who collect data and specimens about the reticulated python, Snakeaholic aka Kevin Pavlidis helped snag a reticulated python that measured 18' 4" long.El Hippie waterfall in Naguabo, Puerto Rico.(Getty Images)This gigantic snake was held up by eight people standing shoulder-to-shoulder to show just how big of a snake they're dealing with.

They tracked it down after it was "spotted strangling a pet cat behind a house."CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK OUTDOORSThere was no mention of whether the pet cat survived the ordeal or not.These hunters had a snake to catch.

But as you can clearly see, that thing can easily take down more than a pet cat.The reticulated python is an invasive species in Puerto Rico, much like the Burmese pythons are, in Snakeaholic's home state of Florida.Bloor said she just 'sort of side-shuffled out.' (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)EVA SHOCKEY SAYS SHE RECEIVED 'THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS' OF DEATH THREATS FROM ANTI-HUNTING ACTIVISTS"It took all my tracking skills and 20 minutes of searching to find this snake down in the jungle," Snakeaholic wrote about tracking down the snake after it was chased down a mountain away from the cat it was strangling."Removing this invasive apex predator is one more step towards restoring the delicate balance of the ecosystem out here in Puerto Rico and I am proud to be a part of this incredible conservation work!"THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE.DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!Running around snatching pythons out of the jungle isn't my idea of fun, but someone has to do it.

A giant species of snake like this can take over an ecosystem, as Snakeaholic points out.SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTERImage of an Asiatic reticulated python (Python reticulatus), a member of the Pythonidae family.(De Agostini via Getty Images)"As incredible as these snakes are, they are an unbelievably large threat to th...