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The Conservancy\u2019s python tracking team made the first capture of the breeding season with scout snake #118 \u201cSnaquan\u201d in November 2025, removing a 17-foot, 148 lb female python.<\/p>\n
Conservancy of Southwest Florida<\/p>\n
Four tons of invasive Burmese pythons were removed from South Florida ecosystems during the latest breeding season, setting a record for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.<\/p>\n
The achievement marks a new milestone in the fight against the giant snakes, which are considered one of the greatest threats to the Everglades ecosystem because of their ability to prey on mammals, birds and other native wildlife.<\/p>\n
The Conservancy said it removed more python biomass this season than at any point since launching its research and removal program in 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis marks the greatest biomass of invasive Burmese pythons removed in a single season by the Conservancy\u2019s python tracking team and volunteers since the program began\u201d, the organization said on its website.<\/p>\n
Biologists monitored pythons across a 200-square-mile area of Collier County during the breeding season, which ran from November 2025 through April 2026.<\/p>\n
Read more: An unexpected predator is raiding Burmese python nests in the Everglades<\/a><\/p>\n Four tons of invasive snakes<\/p>\n During the season, the team captured 177 invasive Burmese pythons with a combined weight of 8,080 pounds.<\/p>\n Captured females weighed an average of 95 pounds. The largest measured 17 feet long and weighed 153 pounds.<\/p>\n The females contained an average of 70 eggs, while one in four had remains of white-tailed deer in their stomachs.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was our first four-ton removal season. Our tagged scout snakes helped us locate large breeding snakes<\/a> deep in the landscape before they had a chance to lay eggs,\u201d said Ian Bartoszek, Wildlife Biologist and Conservancy Science Project Manager, who pioneered the nonprofit\u2019s python program.<\/p>\n How Florida scientists are reducing Burmese python reproduction<\/p>\n Bartoszek said the science-based management strategy is helping reduce local reproduction of Burmese pythons.<\/p>\n \u201cWith consistent pressure, we hope to see these removal numbers decline over time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Since 2013, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida\u2019s python research and removal program has removed 1,750 pythons weighing more than 53,000 pounds from Southwest Florida.<\/p>\n Researchers track the reptiles during the breeding season using radio telemetry and 40 tagged male pythons known as \u201cscout snakes.\u201d Females are captured before they can lay eggs.<\/p>\n During the most recent season alone, the team removed more than 4,100 Burmese python eggs from the ecosystem.<\/p>\n Adult pythons have an extraordinary reproductive capacity. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), females can lay between 50 and 100 eggs each year.<\/p>\n Why Burmese pythons are so difficult to control<\/p>\n The mating season occurs primarily between December and April, while nesting typically takes place in late spring and hatching occurs between July and August.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout the Conservancy\u2019s continued removal efforts, these invasive predators would still be out there decimating native wildlife and reproducing across the landscape,\u201d said Rob Moher, President and CEO of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery python removed reduces pressure on the ecosystem. No other organization has carried out such intensive research and direct field removal work to combat the threat of Burmese pythons in Southwest Florida,\u201d he added<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 2:17 PM.<\/p>\n![\"Radio-tagged](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/PitonCollier3.jpg\" "\\"PitonCollier3.jpg\\"")
Radio-tagged scout snake # 97 \u201cVladi\u201d coiled up after a shed cycle in Southwest Florida. Conservancy of Southwest Florida <\/p>\n
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