They prey on the local animals and have eliminated nearly all of the cottontail rabbits, foxes, raccoons, and opossums. In an effort to control the population, researchers try to catch and eliminate as many female pythons as they can to prevent them from reproducing. Read on to find out about the massive 18-foot Florida python that just became the largest U.S. snake ever found.
What is a Burmese Python?
Burmese pythons are large, thick-bodied constrictor snakes. The average size for an adult is 6-10 feet long but some get to be much larger. They have a base color of tan with black outlined splotches all over their bodies. Their heads can be larger than a human hand and you might not be able to fit your hands around the circumference of their bodies. Burmese Pythons are not native to the U.S. they are from southeast Asia. As a constrictor snake, they attack their prey, holding them in their teeth and then wrap their long muscular body around it, and squeeze until the prey dies. They then swallow the prey whole. Burmese pythons are even capable of eating alligators. If you are curious about what that looks like here is a video of a Burmese Python capturing and eating an alligator!
Who found the 18-Foot Florida Python?
Two researchers and an intern from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida found the 18-foot-long python. Researchers Ian Bartoszek, Ian Easterling and intern Kyle Findley didn’t just stumble across this large python. They have been using a system of finding females by using male pythons outfitted with GPS trackers.
How do researchers find Burmese Pythons using GPS trackers?
Researchers are focusing on eliminating more female Burmese pythons because they can have 50-100 babies at a time! So they developed a system of using male Burmese pythons to find females and then they capture the females. By outfitting males with a GPS tracker they can follow his quest to find the females that alert the males by releasing a special pheromone. For this 18-foot long python, the researchers used an experienced male named Dionysus (Dion) who was probably disappointed how his romantic evening ended. They brought Dion back to the research facility to use for a future date night.
How much did the Python weigh?
The 18-foot-long Burmese python weighed 215 lbs (97 kilograms). That explains why the photo of the capture shows three adults holding the giant snake up. Each carried about 70 pounds!
What is the problem with Burmese Pythons in Florida?
Burmese pythons are an invasive species. They are killing and eating animals that are native and competing for food with other animals including a few endangered ones like the Key Largo woodrat. According to the USGS U.S. Department of the Interior, “In a 2012 study, populations of raccoons had dropped 99.3 percent, opossums 98.9 percent, and bobcats 87.5 percent since 1997. Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes effectively disappeared.” Because the only predators of the pythons is humans and alligators their numbers have gone unchecked for years and are difficult to control.
What are conservationists doing about the invasive Burmese Pythons?
Conservationists and researchers are trying multiple strategies to control the Burmese Python population in Florida. Besides the male GPS tracking program, other strategies include driving along the roads in the Everglades looking for ones basking in the sun and allowing people to hunt and kill pythons without a permit. They have also organized a Python Patrol that goes out on regular hunts to locate and eliminate pythons.
What is the Python Patrol?
The Python Patrol is organized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It is a program that includes training available to anyone that wants to learn how to identify and report sightings of the pythons or to learn how to hunt and humanely eliminate the pythons. Burmese pythons are not venomous and do not attack so they are not particularly dangerous to humans, but there are risks in purposefully going out looking for them. Want more information? Check here for the training schedule. Virtual trainings are also available.
What is the Florida Python Challenge®?
A clever way to get encourage more volunteer hunters is the Florida Python Challenge®. It is a 10-day contest to see who can catch the most Burmese Pythons in Florida. There are prizes for the most caught and the longest. The next competition is coming up so get your training done so you have time to plan! Mark your calendar for Friday, August 5, 2022, to Sunday, August 14, 2022. First place prize for the most pythons caught is $2,500, second place is $750, first place for the longest python is $2,500 and second place is $750. There is a professional and novice division.
Who won the Florida Python Challenge® last year?
Last year the prize money was significantly higher due to the generous donation of $10,000 by Virtual Business Services. The $10,000 ultimate grand prize went to Charles Danchton for removing 41 pythons, which averages to 4 per day! Juan Gonzalez removed 8 pythons to receive the $2,500 reward. The longest python caught last year was 15 feet 9 inches by Brandon Call and the longest by a professional was 15 feet 5 inches caught by Dusty Crum. Overall there were 600 people that participated in the challenge and all together they rounded up 223 Burmese Pythons…not bad!
What is the longest snake in the world on record?
According to the Guinness World Records, the longest snakes in the world are reticulated pythons. They can get to be longer than 20 feet. Luckily, reticulated pythons do not live in Florida; they are native to southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The official world record for the longest snake in the world goes to a reticulated python from Celebes, Indonesia in 1912. The record-breaker was 32 ft 9.5 in. (10m)!
