Florida’s investment in stopping the spread of a dangerous, slithering invasive species appears to be working.
In July, 748 Burmese pythons were killed in the Everglades, Fox 4 reported. That number is more than triple the total from July 2024 and meets some of the state’s goals 18 months ahead of schedule.
The Sunshine State has spent $2 million on efforts to remove these pythons from the Everglades and has partnered with a leather retailer to set removal goals.
Some professional python hunters have even moved to Florida to help.
“They have a voracious appetite, and they are eating their way through the Everglades,” one of those hunters, Amy Siewe, told Fox 4. “… It’s very difficult to find them and catch them.”
Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia, but almost 200,000 of them have been brought to the United States by pet traders and smugglers over the past several decades. And just like other invasive species, the pythons have spread quickly and severely damaged their new environment.
Researchers estimate that there could be hundreds of thousands of pythons in Florida. Since their introduction, raccoon and opossum populations have fallen by 99%, bobcats have declined by 87.5%, and other animals such as foxes have all but disappeared. This isn’t much of a surprise when you consider that these pythons can swallow animals as big as alligators.
Burmese pythons have no natural predators, which has led Florida officials to get creative to stop their spread.
The state has held contests with cash prizes for people who capture the most pythons, and it has partnered with local universities to remove more than 20 tons of the reptiles from the region.
But despite increasing removals, even those who hunt the snakes say other methods are necessary to control their spread.
“Hunting is the most effective thing that we have right now, but it’s not very effective,” Siewe said. “We need something more. A lot of research is being done to try to figure out a better solution, and I hope that they come up with it.”
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