First woman to win the Florida Python Challenge celebrates her victory
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USA Today
15 hours ago
- USA Today
‘Swamp Queen' sets record in Python Challenge debut
Not only did Taylor Stanberry become the first woman to win the Florida Python Challenge, but she did it in record style while making her debut in the event. The Python Challenge has been staged annually since 2013 as a means of raising awareness about the invasive species and removing them from the South Florida ecosystem. This year, the 10-day competition drew 934 participants from 30 states and Canada, and they combined to remove a record 294 Burmese pythons from South Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Stanberry alone removed more than 20 percent of that total, catching a record 60 pythons to capture the $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize. The Gulf Coast News called Stanberry the Swamp Queen in its report of the event posted on YouTube. 'This is not about trophy hunting or just killing pythons because it's fun or whatever, I actually want to save the native wildlife,' Stanberry told Gulf Coast News. Stanberry plans to use her financial prize on growing her exotic animal sanctuary in South Florida. 'The record number of pythons removed highlights the importance of citizen engagement as we tackle one of the toughest conservation challenges of our time, invasive exotic species of animals and plants,' said Pedro Ramos, superintendent of Everglades National Park. 'By collaborating closely with our partners at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District, we are making meaningful progress toward preserving the Everglades and its diverse wildlife for generations to come." 'Burmese pythons are not native to Florida and negatively impact native species,' the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wrote. 'They are found primarily in and around the Everglades ecosystem in south Florida, where they prey on birds, mammals and other reptiles. A female Burmese python can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time. Since the year 2000, more than 23,000 wild Burmese pythons have been removed from the state of Florida and reported to the FWC.' Women took five of the top seven spots in the challenge. After Stanberry's Ultimate Grand Prize, Donna Kalil received $2,500 for the most pythons taken in the professional category with 56 followed by the runner-up Hannah Gray with 22 pythons for $1,500. Krista Hoekstra took the top prize of $2,500 in the novice category, taking 14 pythons followed by the runner-up Kymberly Clark with seven for $1,500. In the novice division, Michael Marousky won the longest python prize of $1,000 for a 15-foot, 11-inch python he brought in. In the military division of active duty and veterans, John Southworth (Army) won $2,500 for the most pythons with five with Matthew Jamison (Air Force) taking home $1,500 as the runner-up with three. The longest was 11 feet, 2 inches brought in by Jonathon Miller (Air Force), good for $1,000.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
First woman to win the Florida Python Challenge celebrates her victory
Florida Python Challenge winner Taylor Stanberry breaks down her victory in the annual event on 'Fox Report.'
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Miami Herald
Snake-wrangling YouTuber hunts down 60 invasive pythons for Florida competition
On an island in the middle of the Florida Everglades, Taylor Stanberry — mostly nocturnal in the summer catching Burmese pythons — uncovered a wriggling nest of 30 baby pythons. The discovery helped the Naples resident land first place in the 2025 Florida Python Challenge, which drew 934 hunters competing to make a dent in the state's invasive Burmese python population, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Aug. 13. 'I've been catching pythons for 11 years, so it kind of gets to be just like another day in the office,' Stanberry told McClatchy News on Aug. 15. 'But it is always fun actually finding fresh babies along with the eggs, because that is such a hard thing to do.' The competitors estimated that the timing of this year's contest, which ran July 11 to 20, and the discovery of the nests helped bolster the removal numbers. Last year, the first place winner caught 20 pythons during the contest, which was held nearly a month later than this year's, McClatchy News reported last September. This year's competitors hauled in a record 294 snakes, with 40% of those coming from two women alone. Stanberry is one and Donna Kalil is the other, winning the most pythons prize in the professional category with 56 snakes, beating her 19 pythons from last year. 'Being the first female ultimate grand prize winner is a huge honor, because I know the other women that competed are awesome, like Donna won first place in a professional category,' Stanberry said. Stanberry and her husband have a large following on YouTube and social media, where they showcase their encounters with wildlife in Florida and around the world, mostly focusing on snakes. They also run a wildlife sanctuary with over 150 venomous snakes, and relocate venomous snakes in southwest Florida, Stanberry said. 'Me and my husband especially, we try to work really hard on saving wildlife and educating people on wildlife. So finally getting some recognition on the hard work that we've been doing means a lot,' said Stanberry, who took home a $10,000 prize for first place. Stanberry and her husband make educational videos about snakes to help reduce the creatures' bad reputation. Their YouTube channel has nearly 230,000 subscribers. In one YouTube video, Stanberry holds a venomous coral snake, explaining the differences between the species and other similar-looking snakes. In another video, she pulls a rattlesnake out of a pool with a snake hook. 'So it's really about just educating people that snakes really aren't bad,' she said. 'That's one thing I hate about the hunting of the pythons, in a sense, that everyone's just like, 'yeah, kill the snakes.' I'm like, 'No, it's not about killing snakes. It's about saving the other snakes.'' Burmese pythons, one of the largest snake species in the world, currently run unchecked in the Everglades with few natural predators, FWC biologists say. Pythons aren't picky about what they eat either, feasting on 'mammals, birds, reptiles and protected species such as the federally designated threatened wood stork and the federally-designated endangered Key Largo woodrat,' according to the FWC. 'Burmese pythons can consume meals equivalent to 100% their body mass.' Stanberry's desire to help native wildlife drives her to even become partly nocturnal during the summer months, when python hunting is only possible at night. Stanberry and her husband, and sometimes friends who like to come along, will brave the heat and bugs and hike out into the swamp, drive out to trails in a vehicle, take electric bikes or motor around in a johnboat looking for the invasive species. When Stanberry goes out looking for pythons, she said she also enjoys seeing other native wildlife like alligators, owls and snakes. 'So then that really motivates you, especially when you're in a rural area and you see bobcats and you know, they're the perfect python meal size,' she said. 'So it's like, OK, we gotta capture the pythons so we can continue to see all of this wildlife.' Other winners of this year's tournament include Michael Marousky, who took home the longest python prize with a 15-foot, 11-inch catch. Others caught pythons measuring 9 feet and 11 feet. 'I just want people to hunt pythons for the right reason,' Stanberry said. 'Don't do it just because it's fun to catch a big snake and kill it, you know, because that's not why I do it. It's really just about saving native wildlife and helping lower the python population.'
