OXFORD — A 2-year-old girl was strangled this morning by a pet python at a Sumter County home, according to a sheriff's report.
The incident occurred just after 10 a.m. at a residence in the 1500 block of county Road 466 in Oxford, which is located west of Lady Lake.
It's not known if the pet snake got loose before killing the girl.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, pythons are a nonnative species to Florida, although some Burmese pythons have been found in parts of Florida.
An invasion of giant Burmese pythons in South Florida that made national headlines last year was "rapidly expanding" and could reach Central Florida, according to a University of Florida study.
"There's no part of this state that you can point at and say that pythons couldn't live here," researcher Frank Mazzotti said. "They're capable of incredible movement -- and in a relatively short period."
Most of the pythons were brought over as pets and then turned loose in the wild, he said.
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