\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBurmese pythons are one of the state’s most fearsome invasive speciesWhile they’ve maintained a presence in the Everglades for more than 25 years, a new study reveals they’re traveling north. “Pythons are large-body snakes. They are constrictors. That means they’re going to coil around their food in order to eat,” said Nicole Payne with the Brevard Zoo. It may not be the way you eat your food, but that’s what these Burmese pythons are known for, and experts say these massive snakes are on the rise in Brevard County.Payne says the trend is worrisome. “If you’re getting too close to them, they might feel threatened. Anything with a mouth can bite,” she said. But these reclusive reptiles aren’t native to Florida and don’t want much to do with people.The real threat: throwing the ecosystem out of whack.”Without any natural predators, they are eating a lot of animals that are existing which takes everything out of the loop,” Payne said. “Once you have one thing removing the resource from all the others, all the native predators don’t have as much to eat anymore.”And that makes for an unharmonious system that’s meant to be, well, in perfect harmony.”Everything is really meant to be built in balance and once you throw that balance off is when resources start to disappear and you might see an increase in other populations of things,” she said. Researchers thought hard freezes and colder months in Florida would curb the species growth. But new studies find that pythons coil up on chilly days in threatened gopher tortoise or invasive armadillo burrows, even breeding there.It’s a problem ecologists are trying to mitigate. “They are working through a whole lot of different manners between researching where they’re at. They are sponsoring things like python hunts to go and collect them. They are highly regulated where they come from,” Payne said. Even though pythons are illegal as pets in Florida, experts believe the increased sightings in Brevard are pets that got too big and were let go. While Burmese python sightings have grown, experts say, don’t touch them. Leave that to the experts and call FWC. The FWC recommends an app called I’veGot1 to help report invasive species in Florida.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tBREVARD COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Burmese pythons are one of the state’s most fearsome invasive species<\/p>\n
While they’ve maintained a presence in the Everglades for more than 25 years, a new study reveals they’re traveling north. <\/p>\n
“Pythons are large-body snakes. They are constrictors. That means they’re going to coil around their food in order to eat,” said Nicole Payne with the Brevard Zoo. <\/p>\n
It may not be the way you eat your food, but that’s what these Burmese pythons are known for, and experts say these massive snakes are on the rise in Brevard County.<\/p>\n
Payne says the trend is worrisome. <\/p>\n
“If you’re getting too close to them, they might feel threatened. Anything with a mouth can bite,” she said. <\/p>\n
But these reclusive reptiles aren’t native to Florida and don’t want much to do with people.<\/p>\n
The real threat: throwing the ecosystem out of whack.<\/p>\n
“Without any natural predators, they are eating a lot of animals that are existing which takes everything out of the loop,” Payne said. “Once you have one thing removing the resource from all the others, all the native predators don’t have as much to eat anymore.”<\/p>\n
And that makes for an unharmonious system that’s meant to be, well, in perfect harmony.<\/p>\n
“Everything is really meant to be built in balance and once you throw that balance off is when resources start to disappear and you might see an increase in other populations of things,” she said. <\/p>\n
Researchers thought hard freezes and colder months in Florida would curb the species growth. But new studies find that pythons coil up on chilly days in threatened gopher tortoise or invasive armadillo burrows, even breeding there.<\/p>\n
It’s a problem ecologists are trying to mitigate. <\/p>\n
“They are working through a whole lot of different manners between researching where they’re at. They are sponsoring things like python hunts to go and collect them. They are highly regulated where they come from,” Payne said. <\/p>\n
Even though pythons are illegal as pets in Florida, experts believe the increased sightings in Brevard are pets that got too big and were let go. <\/p>\n
While Burmese python sightings have grown, experts say, don’t touch them. Leave that to the experts and call FWC. <\/p>\n