Q&A with the Python Huntress Amy Siewe: What does a 'road gift' mean for Florida hunters?
More: Dancing with a python: Florida 'huntress' used quick moves to snag this squirrely snake
Today's question drills down on "python hunter lingo." During her presentation at Ding Darling, Siewe shared with the audience what a 'road gift' means for python hunters who are out trying to manage the population of the snake that is wreaking havoc with the South Florida ecosystem.
For the answer, watch the video at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Python hunter answers questions about Florida's invasive snake
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
21 hours ago
- Fox News
Reptile hunter climbs into apartment building dumpster to remove 16-foot python in Los Angeles
A reptile hunter sprang into action last week to remove a 16-foot python that was slithering around a dumpster at a Los Angeles apartment building. Dramatic video shows 24-year-old Joseph Hart — sporting just jeans and a T-shirt — sitting on the edge of the dumpster and inching toward the large reptile, before carefully working to detach the animal that was tightly gripping the garbage container's rim. Hart said he was doing computer work at a coffee shop earlier that day when he first received a call about a snake in a dumpster. Upon arrival at the building, Hart assessed the python's temperament – noting the animal was not hostile and seemed like it had been trying to escape. "They're not good climbers at this size," Hart told Fox News Digital. "… So the fact that she was elevated told me that she was definitely trying to get away." Hart said removing the 65-pound, female snake was difficult because she was "pure muscle." But with some careful repositioning, and some assistance from bystanders with moving the dumpster away from the wall, he was able to successfully get the snake out of the container. The video then shows the python, who Hart later named 'Apples,' wrapped around the reptile hunter as he speaks to bystanders. "I was totally manhandling her and grabbing her neck and head very tight, which I don't enjoy doing with any creature," Hart told Fox News Digital. "I'm apologizing to her, and at that moment, I think the bystanders around realized that she meant no harm, and so I continued to educate the people about the animal." The large reptile also had a mouth infection, which may have been the reason why she had been abandoned in the container in the first place, according to Hart. "She's a very tame animal," Hart said. "… It breaks my heart because this person most likely did take care of the snake, did love the snake and was just overwhelmed with the medical issue and decided to make a very poor decision about abandoning her." Hart, who also describes himself as a wildlife rehabilitator, said his passion for reptiles began at an early age, having had a strong interest in dinosaurs and wildlife TV shows. "I have the best job in the world right now," he said. "I love it."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Powerful AP photos show the scars of a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing
Japan Nagasaki Anniversary Scars Photo Gallery NAGASAKI, Japan (AP) — On the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, The Associated Press is republishing the extraordinary photos of one survivor of the attack. Sumiteru Taniguchi, who died in 2017, was 16 when a U.S. B-29 dropped the bomb on the city. The scars on his back, burned raw by the blast, bore silent witness to that day, August 9, 1945, in an unspoken testimony inscribed in flesh. The photos, originally published in 2015 by Eugene Hoshiko, the AP chief photographer in Tokyo, show more than remnants of extreme trauma. Taniguchi considered them to be warnings, evidence shown freely so no one could say they hadn't seen the horrific results of nuclear warfare . Even after his death, Taniguchi's legacy endures. As co-chairperson of Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for decades he helped lead activists pushing for the end to nuclear weapons. When Nihon Hidankyo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 , many recalled Taniguchi's quiet, unwavering voice and the scars he refused to hide. Here is the original story from 2015, published on the 70th anniversary of the attacks: ___ Struggling a bit with a left arm that has never straightened out, Sumiteru Taniguchi slowly peeled the undershirt off his frail 86-year-old body to show two visitors his scars from the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki. For 70 years, he has lived with them, a web of wounds covering most of his back, and the remains of three ribs that half rotted away and permanently press against his lungs, making it hard to breathe. His wife still applies a moisturizing cream every morning to reduce irritation from the scars. Not a day goes by without pain. He was 16 and on the job as a letter carrier when the powerful blast threw him from his bicycle. He had been about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) from the epicenter of the 'Fat Man' plutonium bomb that detonated over Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, killing more than 70,000 people. Six days later, Japan surrendered, ending World War II. Speaking in a weak voice with some effort, he told the story last month of wandering for three days in a daze, unaware of the seriousness of his injuries. He felt something like a ragged cloth hanging from his back, shoulder and arm: It was his skin. He would spend the next 21 months lying on his stomach, getting treatment for his burned back, decomposing flesh and exposed bones. Going in and out of consciousness, he could hear the nurses passing by in the hallway asking each other if the boy was still breathing. He thought: 'Just kill me.' Because he lay immobile for so long, as one of his teenage arm bones grew, it blocked the joint at the elbow so he can't fully extend the arm. Taniguchi hopes no one else will have to suffer the pain of nuclear weapons. He heads a Nagasaki survivors group working against nuclear proliferation, though old age and pneumonia are making it harder for him to play an active role. After so many years, his words are tinged with frustration. 'I want this to be the end,' he said, slipping his shirt back on. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by Associated Press photo editors.
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
20-foot python found on top of dumpster in downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles residents found a 20-foot python slithering around one of the dumpsters in their apartment complex this week. The residents called snake wrangler Joseph Hart after they were unable to reach animal control. "The snake was not really wanting to get off the dumpster," he said. "She was frightened, as you could imagine. There were a lot of people there. She's just been in this weird situation. She was really stressed out." Hart, known as the "Reptile Hunter," said it was challenging to remove the snake from the dumpster due to the animal's sheer strength and weight. "I needed to move the dumpster and then get her off and put her on my body," Hart said. "That's just good old-fashioned animal wrangling is how I got her out of the dumpster." Hart, who developed a passion for wildlife through the series "The Crocodile Hunter," taught the residents watching him about the python after wrangling the animal out of the dumpster. Hart said the snake had some health issues, particularly around its mouth, after not being properly cared for. On his website, Hart said his mission is to "promote wildlife conservation through animal rehabilitation and public education."
