Florida is doing its best to battle the scourge of the invasive Burmese Python. Now, this invasive species has proved to be highly destructive to the native wildlife in the Everglades. Over the last ten years, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida has achieved phenomenal, international success in combating the invasive Burmese Python population. So far, they’ve taken more than 20 tons of these invasive snakes off the landscape. These efforts are a direct response to the most pressing worldwide challenge—the decline of all native mammals. Much of this decline is attributable to the invasion of pythons.
Burmese pythons came from a few dozen snakes that pet owners released in the 90s. Since their establishment, these snakes have quickly spread throughout south Florida. Today’s estimates suggest that tens of thousands of these snakes now reside in the area. This increase presents a critical threat to regional ecosystems. Female pythons are particularly problematic, as they can lay dozens of eggs, up to 100 annually, which exacerbates the species’ rapid expansion.
The effect of Burmese Pythons on the Everglades’ small to medium mammal population has been nothing short of disastrous. Wildlife management professionals, in response to these drastic native declines, look to take immediate, impactful action. The South Florida Water Management District has done a commendable job with euthanizing over 15,650 Burmese Pythons. This project aims to reduce the proliferation of their expanding hordes.
Today’s data uncovers an incredible victory by Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Since that time, they have bagged and tagged more than 6,300 pounds of Burmese pythons in a 200 square mile area of southwest Florida. During the breeding season from November to April, biologists are focusing all their efforts on finding and eliminating female pythons.
To better follow these snakes, the Conservancy uses radio telemetry technology to keep tabs on tagged male “scout” pythons. This approach provides biologists with more precise guidance about where to look for reproductive females. According to Andrew Durso, a researcher involved in these efforts, “There’s very good evidence that the scout snake program is our most effective and least biased method.”
Despite these management efforts, experts admit that total eradication of Burmese Pythons from Florida isn’t realistic. Misplaced expectations Durso identifies the first big problem, which is that we believe the focus should be on eradicating these pests. He points out that this may be the most unreasonable expectation of all. Instead, the goal has become one of population control and reducing their effects on our native wildlife.
Mike Kirkland, a Southeast representative for the Conservancy, hailed the success of their removal work. “Every single python that we take out is one less python, so it’s a good thing environmentally,” he said. He elaborated on the importance of removing females: “If you can take out one female, it’s not just that single python, but all of her current and future reproduction—that’s thousands of eggs that will never be laid.”
That collective effort, led and coordinated by the Conservancy, has pretty much ensured that approximately 20,000 eggs have hatched since 2013. Kirkland noted that they are continually improving their methods: “We’re getting better and better at removing this invasive species… which is leading to more removals and hopefully innovation and novel strategies going forward.”
Each summer, hundreds of these hunters enter competitive hunting tournaments during the annual Florida Python Challenge. They compete for cash prizes in teams by catching the most or the longest snakes. While this event brings awareness and participation to python removal efforts, experts maintain that a multi-pronged strategy remains essential for long-term success. Kirkland underscored that addressing environmental problems must come from a diversified approach. Having seen the collaborative push between many efforts, that’s the way he thinks is most effective to go about it.
Florida’s fight to eradicate Burmese Pythons from its swamps showcases the best and worst of wildlife management projects. Scientists are currently finding out a great deal about this recent invasive species and the impact it has on regional ecosystems. They are still committed to innovative solutions to reduce its effects.