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==Diet==
[[File:Burmese Python photographed at Bardiya National Park1.jpg|thumb|Burmese Python photographed at Bardiya National Park1, Nepal]]
Like all snakes, the Burmese python is [[Carnivore|carnivorous]]. Its diet consists primarily of birds and mammals, but also includes amphibians and reptiles. It is a sit-and-wait predator, meaning it spends most of its time staying relatively still, waiting for prey to approach, then striking rapidly.<ref name=":04">{{cite journal |vauthors=Secor SM, Diamond J |title=Adaptive responses to feeding in Burmese pythons: pay before pumping |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=198 |issue=Pt 6 |pages=1313–1325 |date=June 1995 |doi=10.1242/jeb.198.6.1313 |pmid=7782719 |url=https://jeb.biologists.org/content/198/6/1313 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The snake grabs a prey animal with its sharp teeth, then wraps its body around the animal to kill it through [[constriction]].<ref>{{Cite web| date =February 2016| vauthors = Szalay J |title=Python Facts |website=livescience.com |url=https://www.livescience.com/53785-python-facts.html|access-date=2021-03-17}}</ref> The python then swallows its prey whole. It is often found near human habitation due to the presence of rats, mice, and other [[vermin]] as a food source. However, its equal affinity for domesticated birds and mammals means it is often treated as a pest. In captivity, its diet consists primarily of commercially available appropriately sized rats, graduating to larger prey such as rabbits and [[poultry]] as it grows. As an invasive species in Florida, Burmese pythons primarily eat a variety of small mammals including foxes, rabbits, and raccoons. Due to their high predation levels, they have been implicated in the decline and even disappearance of many mammal species.<ref name=":52"/><ref name=":13"/> In their invasive range, pythons also eat birds and occasionally other reptiles. Exceptionally large pythons may even require larger food items such as pigs or goats, and are known to have attacked and eaten [[alligator]]s and adult [[deer]] in Florida.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/photo-in-the-news-python-bursts-after-eating-gator-update/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021124327/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/photo-in-the-news-python-bursts-after-eating-gator-update/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 21, 2018|title=Photo in the News: Python Bursts After Eating Gator (Update)|date=5 September 2006|website=National Geographic News|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Large-Python-Captured-Killed-After-Devouring-Adult-Deer-132922183.html |title=Large Python Captured, Killed After Devouring Adult Deer | KSEE 24 News - Central Valley's News Station: Fresno-Visalia - News, Sports, Weather | Local News |publisher=Ksee24.com |date=2011-10-31 |access-date=9 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731060837/http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Large-Python-Captured-Killed-After-Devouring-Adult-Deer-132922183.html |archive-date=2012-07-31}}</ref>
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