Latest news with #PythonChallenge
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
Yikes! A look at some of the biggest Burmese pythons caught in Florida snake hunt
The Florida Python Challenge 2025 is in full swing. The annual snake hunt started at 12:01 a.m. July 11. It will end at 5 p.m. July 20. Participants have until July 20 to kill as many Burmese pythons as possible from several locations in South Florida, including the Florida Everglades. The annual event began as a loosely planned scramble in the Everglades, an experiment in incentive-based extermination, a novelty that in subsequent years would help spawn reality TV shows, attract a rock star and entice celebrity chefs. 'The Python Challenge has a cult-like following,' said Marshall Jones, whose family owns Mack's Fish Camp in western Broward County. 'People travel from far and wide to come to it. They camp in tents, bring their RVs, all to catch one of these elusive slithering monsters.' What is the Florida Python Challenge? The Florida Python Challenge is a python removal competition. Participants have nine days to kill as many Burmese pythons as possible. The 2025 python removal competition started at 12:01 a.m. July 11. It will end at 5 p.m. July 20. The competition helps protect the Everglades habitat and all its native animals by removing the invasive Burmese pythons. Why hunt Burmese pythons? Burmese pythons are an invasive species that pose a threat to wildlife in the Everglades. Florida pays hunters annually to catch the snakes. The competition helps protect the Everglades habitat and all its native animals by removing the invasive Burmese pythons. State-approved hunters can win up to $10,000 this year. Here are some of the biggest Burmese pythons caught in the Florida Python Challenge annual snake hunt Can you use a gun to kill a python in the Florida Python Challenge? Participants are not allowed to use firearms to kill pythons during the Florida Python Challenge because there's no established firearm season at the competition locations during the timeframe. Novices must humanely kill their captured pythons immediately after catching them. You can use air guns and captive bolts to kill pythons at any time of day or night. Read more on the rules: Can you use a gun to kill a python in the Florida Python Challenge? Here's the rules Laura Lordi is Digital Editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at llordi@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida python challenge: Biggest snakes caught during Everglades hunt Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
09-07-2025
- General
- USA Today
Why hunters are chasing invasive snakes in Florida's 10-day python challenge
The annual Florida Python Challenge starts July 11 at 12:01 a.m. ET and ends at 5 p.m. July 20. Participants can win more than $25,000 in prizes as they remove invasive Burmese pythons from South Florida. Burmese pythons, which are not native to Florida, harm native wildlife. The invasive species is primarily found in and around the Everglades ecosystem in South Florida, where they prey on birds, mammals and other reptiles. The Florida Python Challenge was created by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to help protect the Everglades and its native animals by removing the invasive reptiles. Contestants have 10 days to kill as many Burmese pythons as possible. How many pythons are removed each year in the Python Challenge? Last year, participants in the Florida Python Challenge removed 195 invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades. That brought the total number of nonnative constrictors removed in all Florida Python Challenge competitions to 1,112. In 2024, more than 850 people from 33 states and Canada registered for the competition. Where will the python challenge take place? The Florida Python Challenge will take place on eight commission-managed lands in South Florida. This year the Everglades National Park is participating in the Florida Python Challenge. 'We're excited to join our partners in the State of Florida for this year's Florida Python Challenge,' said Pedro Ramos, superintendent of Everglades National Park, who oversees the South Florida National Parks and Preserve. 'For years, we've worked alongside the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the South Florida Water Management District and others to manage pythons and other invasive species while educating the public about their impact on the Everglades. This event marks another milestone in that collaboration as we include Everglades National Park in the Challenge.' Where do Burmese pythons live? Originally from Southeast Asia, the Burmese python was introduced to southern Florida either through accidental escape or intentional release of captive animals. In 1979, the first observation of a Burmese python in the wild in South Florida was recorded in Everglades National Park. The heaviest python ever caught in Florida was an 18-foot, 215-pound snake. It was caught by a biologist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples in 2021. Size of the Burmese python The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission keeps track of length and weight of Burmese pythons after sightings are reported. The longest Burmese python ever captured in Florida, in July 2023, measured more than 19 feet. What are the rules of the Florida Python Challenge? ◾ Contestants must carry a printed or digital copy of their Florida Python Challenge registration notification email while hunting. ◾ Contestants must complete required online training and receive a unique completion code. ◾ Only Burmese pythons removed from competition locations are valid entries. ◾ The use of firearms is prohibited. ◾ The use of dogs or other animals to search, capture or kill is prohibited. ◾ Air guns and captive bolts are allowed. ◾ Python carcasses must be kept chilled or frozen, then turned in to the nearest Florida Python Challenge check station within 24 hours of capture. What should you do if you see a Burmese python? Summer is the time of year when you are most likely to see a Burmese python. In the summer months, Burmese pythons may remain sedentary when the sun is up, but at night they may become more active and are more easily spotted crossing levees or roadways. If you spot a Burmese python, take a photo, mark your location and call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 888-483-4681. You can humanely kill Burmese pythons on private land at any time with a landowner's permission. You don't need a permit to kill the invasive species. Live transport of pythons is not allowed. There are multiple ways to humanely euthanize a python, but here are the basic guidelines from the fish and wildlife commission: ◾ Step 1: Immediate loss of consciousness ◾ Use a captive bolt, firearm or air gun to shoot directly to the brain. ◾ Step 2: Destroy the brain ◾ Make sure the python is unconscious. ◾ Insert a small rod, like a screwdriver, spike or pick, into the cranial cavity and twist it to ensure the entire brain is destroyed. CONTRIBUTING Kendall Little, Naples Daily News SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Florida gears up for annual 'Python Challenge' aimed at solving snake infestation: 'A great way to get people directly involved'
Preparations are underway for the latest annual event to combat a persistent invasive species in the Florida Everglades. Starting July 11, contestants will compete for cash prizes while helping control the population of Burmese pythons wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. The annual Florida Python Challenge is a 10-day event where contestants across eight designated hunting areas compete to capture the most pythons. As the Tampa Free Press reported, last year's event saw 195 invasive snakes removed, bringing the total of all events to date to 1,112. In addition to the grand cash prize ($10,000), there are prizes for runners-up and the longest python. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the 2024 winner bagged an impressive 20 snakes. Burmese pythons are an invasive species that first came to the Sunshine State as exotic pets that escaped or were released into the wild by irresponsible homeowners, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Invasive species harm an ecosystem by outcompeting native species for resources. The Burmese python's immense size, longevity, and fertility make it a serious problem for the Everglades. They have absolutely devastated local mammal populations. A 2012 study estimated a 99% reduction in bobcats, opossums, and raccoons in areas where pythons infest. The initiative is one of several novel community-based approaches to tackling invasive species and a great example of taking local action. While some invasive species make for tasty dishes, pythons shouldn't be consumed due to their dangerous mercury levels. Of course, there are less adventurous but no less valuable ways to combat invasive species and protect local biodiversity. Better yet, they involve very little effort and can even save money in the long run. Gardening with native plants and rewilding your yard are suitable for crucial pollinators and require less water and fewer harmful chemicals. The 2025 Florida Python Challenge is shaping up to be the biggest yet. "The Python Challenge is a great way to get people directly involved in the protection and stewardship of the Everglades," the fantastically named "Alligator Ron" Bergeron, a South Florida Water Management District Governing Board member, told the Tampa Bay Free Press. Should we be actively working to kill invasive species? Absolutely It depends on the species I don't know No — leave nature alone Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- 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.'
The Advertiser
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Bounties back in vogue to cull feral goats, cats, pigs
Bounty hunters may be unleashed on feral cats and goats for the first time in years as a state government looks to "novel" ways to deal with pests. NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday threw his weight behind bounties, saying the state has to do better to control feral pest populations. It comes after Victoria's fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp. "It's about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks," Mr Minns told Triple M Coffs Coast radio. "We should be open to bounties and other things, because we've got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation. "We can be doing far better on it." Nearly $1 billion is also being spent on prevention and protection against biosecurity threats in NSW. Invasive species are the highest impact contributors of extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state. Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says. The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent. NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida's famed Python Challenge. The annual 10-day competition - which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It - draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons. Mr Borsak's proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals. The CSIRO's most recent best practice advice on pest management however says bounties rarely work. Animal welfare groups oppose the practice while the Invasive Species Council compares it to "jailing the occasional dealer" in a drug epidemic. Bounty hunters may be unleashed on feral cats and goats for the first time in years as a state government looks to "novel" ways to deal with pests. NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday threw his weight behind bounties, saying the state has to do better to control feral pest populations. It comes after Victoria's fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp. "It's about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks," Mr Minns told Triple M Coffs Coast radio. "We should be open to bounties and other things, because we've got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation. "We can be doing far better on it." Nearly $1 billion is also being spent on prevention and protection against biosecurity threats in NSW. Invasive species are the highest impact contributors of extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state. Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says. The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent. NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida's famed Python Challenge. The annual 10-day competition - which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It - draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons. Mr Borsak's proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals. The CSIRO's most recent best practice advice on pest management however says bounties rarely work. Animal welfare groups oppose the practice while the Invasive Species Council compares it to "jailing the occasional dealer" in a drug epidemic. Bounty hunters may be unleashed on feral cats and goats for the first time in years as a state government looks to "novel" ways to deal with pests. NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday threw his weight behind bounties, saying the state has to do better to control feral pest populations. It comes after Victoria's fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp. "It's about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks," Mr Minns told Triple M Coffs Coast radio. "We should be open to bounties and other things, because we've got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation. "We can be doing far better on it." Nearly $1 billion is also being spent on prevention and protection against biosecurity threats in NSW. Invasive species are the highest impact contributors of extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state. Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says. The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent. NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida's famed Python Challenge. The annual 10-day competition - which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It - draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons. Mr Borsak's proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals. The CSIRO's most recent best practice advice on pest management however says bounties rarely work. Animal welfare groups oppose the practice while the Invasive Species Council compares it to "jailing the occasional dealer" in a drug epidemic. Bounty hunters may be unleashed on feral cats and goats for the first time in years as a state government looks to "novel" ways to deal with pests. NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday threw his weight behind bounties, saying the state has to do better to control feral pest populations. It comes after Victoria's fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp. "It's about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks," Mr Minns told Triple M Coffs Coast radio. "We should be open to bounties and other things, because we've got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation. "We can be doing far better on it." Nearly $1 billion is also being spent on prevention and protection against biosecurity threats in NSW. Invasive species are the highest impact contributors of extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state. Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says. The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent. NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida's famed Python Challenge. The annual 10-day competition - which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It - draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons. Mr Borsak's proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals. The CSIRO's most recent best practice advice on pest management however says bounties rarely work. Animal welfare groups oppose the practice while the Invasive Species Council compares it to "jailing the occasional dealer" in a drug epidemic.
