A record 19-foot Burmese python weighing 128 lbs. was captured and killed this week, highlighting the ever-present python infestation problem in the Florida Everglades.

The python was discovered by amateur python collector Jason Leon, 23, reported ABC News. Upon sighting three feet of the constrictor out of a brush while riding an all-terrain vehicle, Leon attempted to tug the python out of hiding.

"At one point it was wrapped around both my legs and one of my arms," said the marine biology student at Florida International University.

"I knew I had to keep it away from my neck."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) thanked Leon for helping in the state's longtime battle with python infestation.

"Jason Leon's nighttime sighting and capture of a Burmese python of more than 18 feet in length is a notable accomplishment that set a Florida Record," said FFWCC exotic species coordination section leader Kristen Sommers.

"The [commission] is grateful to him both for safely removing such a large Burmese python and for reporting its capture."

According to Fox News, wildlife officials estimated up to 100,000 Burmese pythons living in the state, despite massive efforts to control the population.

Earlier this year, a Burmese python hunt was instituted by the state with roughly 1,600 participants, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

Unfortunately, only 68 were captured as a result.

Even so, the FFWCC said the hunt was a step in the right direction.

"In our view that number-the number that were harvested, taken out of the ecosystem-was an unprecedented number of samples that will help us answer questions about pythons and make us more effective at tackling this problem," said Commission executive director Nick Wiley.

Still, with no predators except for human efforts to hunt down the invaders, the Burmese python infestation will likely continue to threaten the Florida Everglades, human and wildlife alike.