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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
These Snake Trackers Have Removed More than 20 Tons of Invasive Pythons from Florida… and They're Just Getting Started
A conservation group in South Florida that's working to reign in the state's Burmese python problem announced a new milestone in those efforts Monday. After more than a decade of intensive efforts, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida says its team of scientists and trackers has caught, killed, and removed more than 40,000 pounds of the giant, invasive snakes from a roughly 200-square-mile area near Naples. That's over 20 tons worth of Burmese pythons, which rank at the very top of Florida's least wanted list of invasive species. Stretching up to 18 feet long, these cold-blooded killers from Southeast Asia have no real natural predators in Florida, and they can they can swallow animals as large as (or even larger than) they are — in other words, pretty much everything that lives in the Everglades. From woodrats and marsh rabbits to gators and full-grown whitetails, these huge snakes are literally eating their way through the native food web. Read Next: Largest Python Ever Captured in Florida Is Nearly 18 Feet Long 'The list of species [being impacted by these snakes] is up to around 85,' Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist and the Conservancy's science coordinator, told Outdoor Life last week, a few days before the organization's Monday announcement. 'It's easier to make a list of what pythons are not eating, than it is to list all the animals that have been found inside pythons to date.' This is precisely where python removal programs come into play. And while studying and researching the reptiles is part of the Conservancy's wider focus, the main goal of its python program is to remove as many snakes from the landscape as possible. Led by Bartoszek and his research partner, Conservancy biologist Ian Easterling, the team has been tracking down pythons amid the dense forests and swamps of the Everglades since 2013. Bartoszek's team of biologists aren't the only ones doing this conservation work. There are several licensed python trackers that get paid for the snakes they remove, and the state invites everyday snake hunters to compete in the highly-publicized Python Challenge each year. But the trackers at the Conservancy are arguably the most effective and efficient removal team in the region because of their science-based approach to finding Burmese pythons, which — despite their size — are uncannily good at hiding. By taking male pythons and fitting them with trackers, Bartoszek's team lets the snakes do most of the seeking. During breeding season, which runs from November through April, the team uses radio telemetry equipment to follow these male 'scout snakes' as they seek out receptive females. The team currently has around 40 scout snakes in its program, and they've helped catch some of the biggest pythons ever recorded in the Florida Everglades. The scouts have also led the team to some major scientific discoveries, including the first-ever photographs of a Florida python swallowing a full-sized deer. 'I don't want to make it sound too melodramatic, but we do get connected to these animals,' Bartoszek says, referring to one scout snake, named Loki, that died after six years in the program. 'It happens when you stay on the tail of a creature for multiple years.' Utilizing their scouts this way, the team can target the biggest breeding females and remove them from the population, along with their eggs and/or hatchlings. The Conservancy says they've kept around 20,000 python eggs from hatching this way. This past winter was also their most productive removal season to date. According to Monday's announcement, the Conservancy took out roughly 6,300 pounds of python in a matter of months. That eye-popping figure is counterbalanced by the staggering and almost incomprehensible size of Florida's python problem. The snakes now inhabit more than a thousand square miles in the southern reaches of the Sunshine State — a region so vast and dense that wildlife managers can only warrant a guess as to the overall population of Burmese pythons there. (Current estimates by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission are between 100,000 and 300,000 snakes.) In many ways it's an unwinnable battle, with python removal teams like Bartoszek's doing the best they can to hold the line — or in some cases, slowly push it back. Read Next: Florida Python Trackers Remove Two Giant Mating Balls in Record Day of Snake Hunting 'People tend to ask, 'Are we making a dent?' And I would say yes,' Bartoszek says. 'Especially in those areas where we've had the scout method underway for over a decade. Those [males] are ranging further afield and finding fewer females, and the ones that they do find are typically smaller size classes … And we hope to see those similar patterns keep developing over the next couple years and into the future.'
Miami Herald
10 hours ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
Battle to eradicate invasive pythons in Florida achieves stunning milestone
A startling milestone has been reached in Florida's war against the invasive Burmese pythons eating their way across the Everglades. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida reports it has captured and humanely killed 20 tons of the snakes since 2013, including a record 6,300 pounds of pythons killed this past breeding season, according to a June 9 news release. To put that in perspective, 20 tons — or 40,000 pounds — is a mound of snakes the size of a fire truck ... or a fully loaded city bus. What's startling is those 1,400 snakes didn't come from a statewide culling. They came from a 200-square-mile area in southwestern Florida, the conservancy reports. The greater Everglades ecosystem, where the snakes are thriving, covers more than 7,800 square miles, according to wildlife biologist Ian Bartoszek, the Conservancy Science Project Manager who oversees the python program. It's estimated tens of thousands of pythons are roaming the region, the U.S. Geological Survey says. 'I guess the real question is what did it take in native animals to make 20 tons of python? ... It still amazes me how big these animals get and how many of them are out there,' Bartoszek told McClatchy News in a phone interview. 'Pythons have indeterminate growth and the more they eat, the larger they become. On this project we have captured the largest female by weight at just under 18 (feet) but weighing a massive 215 pounds and the largest male at 16 (feet) and 140 pounds. Their size is a reflection of the available prey base. We probably grow them larger in Southwest Florida because we still have deer and medium-sized mammals for them to prey upon. In portions of the eastern Everglades, it is likely the reverse.' University of Florida researchers have identified 85 species of birds and mammals (including reptiles) that are being eaten by pythons in the Everglades, leading to fears they are decimating some native mammal populations, Bartoszek says. Southwestern Florida's wetlands are like a buffet for pythons, putting the region and the conservancy on the front lines. It's only with the help of technology that the conservancy has gained ground since starting the python program in 2013, Bartoszek says. This includes a scout snake program that fits radio telemetry trackers on 40 male pythons, so they can be tracked to reproductive females during mating season (November through April). Those females are humanely euthanized and the tagged males are freed to track down more females. The program has prevented more than 20,000 python eggs from hatching, the conservancy says. 'Long-term monitoring has shown signs of positive effectiveness of these efforts, as scout snakes increasingly struggle to locate mates or the females they find are smaller in size,' the conservancy says. Bartoszek's team, which includes biologist Ian Easterling, made headlines in 2024 when it walked up on a 115-pound python swallowing a 77-pound deer. That amounted to 66.9% of the snake's body mass and proved they are eating larger prey in Florida. The female python captured and swallowed the live deer in less than an hour, the team concluded. Among the other disconcerting discoveries made: The snakes are expanding their range. They are well established in counties along Florida's southeastern and southwestern coasts and sightings are now being reported near Lake Okeechobee, Bartoszek says. That's about a 110-mile drive northwest from Miami. 'The Burmese python always continues to surprise me and I have an internal memory reel of all the firsts we have seen on the project. The most visceral ones are when we see first hand what they are consuming,' Bartoszek said. 'But those are counterbalanced by seeing native wildlife fighting back, like when we discovered a bobcat that had predated upon one of our scout snakes. Or when we had tracked hatchling pythons over many summers and would eventually be tracking the predators that consumed them, including an endangered eastern Indigo snake. Those feels like wins for the home team when you get to see the Everglades fighting back.' Burmese pythons are native to southeastern Asia, but they began appearing in Florida in the 1970s, according to the South Florida Water Management District. It's suspected the snakes were pets, and they were either released by their owners or escaped captivity, the district says. 'The Burmese python is decimating native wildlife across their invaded range. ... The python team's work of reducing the local population of the invasive snake allows our native wildlife safer conditions to recover,' said Rob Moher, Conservancy of Southwest Florida president and CEO. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida is an environmental organization based in Naples that works to protect natural resources and wildlife in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. It collaborates with the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, University of Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife, South Florida Water Management District, Rookery Bay Research Reserve and Naples Zoo.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Biologists say a giant python's death is a positive sign for Everglades' ecosystem
Biologists said an unusual animal death deep in the Florida Everglades led to a positive surprise. Officials said they found a 13-foot python dead, and they want to know how it happened. They set up cameras in the area and later filmed what they believe is the culprit, a 25-pound bobcat. Bobcats are native to Florida and are found throughout the state. Biologists are calling it a win for the Everglades, which has been inundated by the huge 'non-native' snakes. 'I was impressed,' said wildlife biologist Ian Bartoszek. 'We all tend to like animals that punch above their weight class and so here's a native animal pushing back against an invasive apex predator.' This year alone, Conservancy of Southwest Florida biologists have removed around 130 invasive pythons. Florida's annual Python Hunt Challenge kicks off in July, and registration is now open. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
