Remote-controlled robot rabbits are being used to help solve Florida's python problem
The Burmese python threatens the ecosystem of the Everglades by preying on wildlife, including wading birds, mammals and other reptiles.
The creatures are notoriously difficult to catch but the innovative solar-powered robots are designed to mimic marsh rabbits to lure the pythons out of hiding so they can be removed by agents in the Everglades.
Scientists from the South Florida Water Management District and the University of Florida have teamed up to use the robotic rabbit decoys as part of their Python Elimination Program.
Researchers removed the stuffing from the 40 toy rabbits and replaced it with electrical components which are waterproofed to ensure they can endure the rain and humidity.
They were designed to produce a heat signature and emit a smell to attract pythons.
The rabbits are also equipped with cameras that monitor for pythons and notify officials when a snake is detected. Once notified a snake wrangler can be dispatched to the area and the python will be euthanized.
'Our partners have allowed us to trial these things that may sound a little crazy,' Robert McCleery, a University of Florida professor of wildlife ecology and conservation, told the Palm Beach Post. 'Working in the Everglades for 10 years, you get tired of documenting the problem. You want to address it.'
Every year the state hosts the Florida Python Challenge, encouraging participants to hunt and humanely kill the snakes for a chance to win up to $10,000 in prizes.
Burmese pythons were first spotted in the Everglades in the 1970s and their introduction is a result of the pet trade, when they were intentionally or accidentally released, the South Florida Water Management District said.
'Every python that is removed and eliminated is making a difference to protect the Everglades and South Florida's diverse and native wildlife,' the district said.
'Invasive pythons are one of the most destructive and harmful species in America's Everglades. Their aggressive predation on native wildlife robs panthers, raptors, bobcats, and other native predators of their primary food sources.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Astronauts splash down in Pacific after completing ISS mission that relieved stranded crew members
Four crew members who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this year to relieve two astronauts who were left stranded by a beleaguered space capsule returned to Earth on Saturday. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with Japan's Takuya Onishi and Russia's Kirill Peskov, splashed down in the Pacific off the coast of Southern California on Saturday morning at 11:33 a.m. ET in a SpaceX capsule. It was the first Pacific splashdown for NASA in 50 years, and the third for SpaceX with people on board. NASA astronauts last splashed down in the Pacific in 1975, during the Apollo-Soyuz mission, the first crewed international space mission that involved Americans and Soviets. The crew launched in March, replacing Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were left stuck at the space station for nine months on what was meant to be a week-long mission after the Boeing Starliner they arrived in suffered thruster problems and helium leaks. NASA concluded returning them to Earth in the capsule was too risky, so the Starliner flew back crewless, and Wilmore and Williams came home in a SpaceX capsule in March after their replacements arrived. Wilmore announced his retirement after 25 years with NASA this week. "We want this mission, our mission, to be a reminder of what people can do when we work together, when we explore together," McClain said before leaving the space station on Friday, mentioning "some tumultuous times on Earth." She said she was looking forward to "doing nothing for a couple of days" once back home, and her crewmates were excited about hot showers and burgers. Earlier this year, SpaceX decided to switch their splashdowns from Florida to California to reduce the risk of debris falling on populated areas. After exiting the spacecraft, the crew received medical checks before being flown via helicopter to meet up with a NASA aircraft bound for Houston. "Overall, the mission went great, glad to have the crew back," Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, said in a press conference after splashdown. "SpaceX did a great job of recovering the crew again on the West Coast." Dina Contella, deputy manager for NASA's International Space Station program, added that she was "pretty happy to see the Crew 10 team back on Earth. They looked great, and they are doing great." She noted the crew had orbited the Earth 2,368 times and traveled more than 63 million miles during their 146 days at the space station.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
NASA Aims for U.S. to Be First to Put Nuclear Reactor on the Moon: ‘To Have a Base on the Moon, We Need Energy'
'This is about space exploration. This is about this next phase,' Duffy, interim NASA administrator and 'The Real World' alum, saidNEED TO KNOW Interim NASA administrator Sean Duffy shared plans to make the U.S. the first nation to put a nuclear reactor on the moon 'We're behind, right? … We have to marshal all of our resources, all of our focus on going to the moon, which is what we're going to do,' he said during a Department of Transportation press conference on Aug. 5 Duffy is aiming for NASA to accomplish this by 2030Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the interim NASA administrator, proclaimed that the U.S. needs to 'get our act together' when it comes to the ongoing race to the moon and Mars against other nations. To do this, Duffy, 53, shared during a press conference NASA's plan to make the U.S. the first to put a nuclear reactor on the moon with an aim of by 2030. 'We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon, and to have a base on the moon, we need energy,' the politician and former The Real World: Boston reality TV personality told reporters on Aug. 5. 'This fission technology is critically important, and so we've spent hundreds of million dollars studying, 'Can we do it?' We are now going to move beyond studying, and we've given direction to go,' Duffy continued. 'Let's start to deploy our technology to move to actually make this a reality.' 'If we're going to be able to sustain life on the moon, to then go to Mars, this technology is critically important,' he added. NASA's ongoing fission surface power project, which expands on the space agency's Kilopower project, is striving to create 'relatively small and lightweight' fission systems that would operate on the moon and Mars. According to NASA, a previously discussed fission system would provide at least 40 kilowatts of power, which would 'continuously run 30 households for 10 years.' However, POLITICO reported just before Duffy's announcement, that NASA is now aiming to build a 100-kilowatt reactor. At the Department of Transportation press conference this week, Duffy noted the need for speed in getting a nuclear reactor on the moon. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'We're behind, right? … We have to marshal all of our resources, all of our focus on going to the moon, which is what we're going to do,' he said, adding, 'This is about space exploration. This is about this next phase.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dinosaur footprints from 115 million years ago found after Texas flood
Ancient dinosaur footprints dating back 115 million years were discovered in Northwest Travis County, Texas, after recent flooding swept away layers of sediment and brush that had long hidden them, according to officials. The discovery was made in the Big Sandy Creek area over the weekend by a group of volunteers, Travis County Judge Andy Brown, who serves as the county's chief executive, told ABC News. The tracks were found on private property, with the exact location being kept secret at the owner's request. University of Texas paleontologists confirmed at least 15 individual footprints, Matthew Brown, a paleontologist at UT Austin, told ABC News. Each footprint measured approximately 18-20 inches long and dated back 110-115 million years, according to Brown. The tracks were left by meat-eating dinosaurs similar to an Acrocanthosaurus, a roughly 35-foot-long bipedal carnivore, Brown said. Additional prints found nearby might have represented a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur called Paluxysaurus, which is the official state dinosaur of Texas. MORE: Massive shark caught off the Connecticut coast may break state record Brown and fellow UT Austin paleontologist Kenneth Bader on Tuesday afternoon visited the spot where the tracks were discovered to assess them and to advise officials on protecting them during ongoing flood cleanup efforts. "We expect to return to the site in the near future to more thoroughly document the tracks with maps and 3D imaging," Brown said. He said his team hoped to determine whether multiple dinosaurs moved together as a group or if individuals crossed the area independently. Dinosaur tracks aren't unusual in central Texas, Brown said. "Often people don't realize that it is possible to find them in their own backyards," he said. Last month, deadly floods ravaged parts of central Texas, claiming more than 130 lives. The disaster was severe in Kerr County, where at least 36 children lost their lives at nearby Camp Mystic. According to Brown, the discovery would not impact ongoing cleanup efforts in the area. Local officials encourage anyone who finds additional tracks to report them to the University of Texas paleontology department
