Python hitches ride on sailboat, goes on 100-mile joyride from Florida Keys to mainland

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Courtesy: Marco Island Police Department

MARCO ISLAND, Fla. - Police say a 7-foot-python snuck onto a sailboat in the Florida Keys and hitched a ride, staying on board until the boat completed its nearly 100-mile voyage.

The crew found the big snake in the boat's shower after the vessel docked Friday in Marco Island in southwest Florida after the trip from Indian Key.

Marco Island Police quickly responded and handed the invasive snake over to a local wildlife handler after its joyride.

Courtesy: Marco Island Police Department

Police posted photos of a smiling uniformed officer with the python coiled around his arm. Invasive pythons are believed to have descended from pets freed from captivity in recent decades.

READ Orlando woman finds large python on bathroom counter - but that's not the terrifying part

They are now ravaging native species of birds and mammals around South Florida.