Video of a Florida alligator gliding across Everglades water with a large Burmese python clamped in its jaws has become a recurring viral spectacle, and for good reason. The footage captures a rare, vivid instance of a native predator turning the tables on one of the most destructive invasive species in the United States.

Burmese pythons in Florida are devouring animals as small as rabbits and as big as deer and alligators. How they do it is fascinating and unsettling.