Burmese Pythons Invade South Florida: 150,000 Now Live In Everglades, Officials Worried

It’s been estimated that over 150,000 Burmese pythons now live in South Florida, and officials are concerned that the situation could escalate into an environmental crisis.

The situation started when a few dozen pet pythons escaped from a home in South Florida around a decade ago. Now these creatures have been breeding so profusely that this number has multiplied into the thousands, and they’re believed to be moving across the Everglades. Biologists believe that the spread is the direct result of African pythons, one of the largest and meanest snakes in the world, and Burmese interbreeding.

Wildlife officials have now confirmed that the species have been reproducing in the area for over a decade, and there are even reports that dozens of new eggs have been found.

While conservationists have insisted that the pythons aren’t dangerous to human beings, it’s been announced that they are preying on several other species that are native to the Everglades. This includes baby deer, birds and even alligators, and it’s been confirmed that they have destroyed habitats and eaten hoards of endangered species, such as the wood stork.

Ian Bartoszek, a biologist for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, remarked, “They’re not here to harm us they’re just sort of expanding their range, so we’re looking to document that range expansion of this non-native invasive reptile.”

During the time that the pythons have made the Everglades their home, over a million people have visited the national park, where they have traveled on canoes, on foot, and along various trails, and not one bite has been reported.

While visitors haven’t been attacked, biologists have confirmed that officials who have studied the swamp’s waters have been lunged at five times by pythons. However, these incidents were believed to be a case of mistaken identity as the pythons immediately backed down when they realized that the humans weren’t one of the animals that they had gorged on in the past.

USGS wildlife biologist and herpetologist, Bob Reed, explained to the Washington Post that snakes “rely on being secretive and evading detection as their primary means of avoiding interactions with people, and typically don’t strike until provoked.”

Since 2002, over 2,000 pythons have been removed from the Everglades, and in 2012 a 17-foot python even slithered into a family picnic in a designated area.

Everglades park’s Superintendent, Dan Kimball, said of their attempts to keep the snakes under control: “With respect to controlling Burmese pythons, we are working diligently with our state, federal, tribal, and local partners to manage this invasive species and educate the public on the importance of not letting invasive species loose in the wild.”

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