Latest news with #python
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Cameras near Everglades capture unbelievable encounter between bobcat and python: 'That's a win for the home team'
Cameras near Everglades capture unbelievable encounter between bobcat and python: 'That's a win for the home team' Invasive species can wreak havoc on ecosystems, outcompeting native plants and animals for resources and throwing off the food chain. Wildlife cameras near outside the city of Naples, Florida, caught an American bobcat preying on an invasive Burmese python, Good News Network reports, citing earlier reporting from Gulf Coast News. The Burmese python is one of the largest snake species in the world, growing to an average length of six to nine feet. The snakes are tan in coloration with dark splotches and a pyramid-shaped head. They live in and around water and are native to Southeast Asia. Because they are so large, they have few predators, outside of humans, and will eat a variety of prey. The USGS has linked the invasive species to the decline of multiple species in Everglades National Park. According to the USGS, a 2012 study found that populations of raccoons had declined 99.3%, opossums 98.9%, and bobcats 87.5% since 1997. Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes effectively disappeared over that time." However, the bobcat has not given up the fight for its home territory. "A 25-pound cat killed and cached a 52-pound python? That's a win for the home team," said Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Bartoszek notes that the ecosystem is bouncing back as other predators are beginning to see the snakes as a potential food source. Wildlife conservationists have also stepped in to help balance the ecosystem. "Spy pythons" were implemented in Everglades National Park. These collared males lead scientists to female pythons and their nests since females can lay up to 100 eggs at a time. The hope is to remove both before they can further impact the ecosystem. Allowing invasive species to prosper unchecked can have disastrous long-term effects on biodiversity. There are currently 36 threatened or endangered species within Everglades National Park, so controlling the python is important to their successful preservation. If you're inspired by the bobcat fighting back to take control of its ecosystem, you can look into ways to take local climate action, too. Florida residents can hunt and humanely kill pythons on public land, or they can report any pythons to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure 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.
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
'Maareesan' movie review: Fahadh Faasil, Vadivelu salvage this slow-burn thriller
Maareesan begins with an intriguing sequence of a rat that's let out of its trap and scurries inside a room — only to find a python. Director Sudheesh Shankar uses this sequence to establish that there are snakes and rats among us, inviting us into a guessing game that keeps us engrossed for the most of its 152-minute run time. And that is no mean feat, despite some stumbles. We're soon introduced to Dhayalan (Fahadh Faasil), a petty crook who's just been released from prison. He is soon back in action, stealing a smartphone from a temple and a bike from a movie-hall without fuss. Dhayalan is also a pragmatist: he beats the retreat when an alert commuter gives him a stern glare. Faasil channelises his characteristic humour, sarcasm and street-smarts that reminds you of his iconic role from the 2017 Malayalam crime drama Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. Yet, in your mind, you're harking back to the opening sequence, asking yourself whether he's is the rat or the snake. He enters a house to pilfer its valuables when he comes face to face with Velayudham Pillai (Vadivelu), an Alzheimer's patient. Their opening exchange is one filled with humour, and a deal gets struck out of exasperation, after which the movie kicks into top gear. Hat-tip to V Krishna Moorthy, for dialogues littered with humorous wordplay. Dhayalan and Pillai soon set off on a road-trip across Tamil Nadu. The difference between them couldn't get starker, and that makes for compelling cinema. One's trying to escape his past; the other is losing his future. One bursts out in words, as in a river in full spate; the other's sedate like a still pond. Maareesan 's makers must be congratulated for putting an Alzheimer's patient as the protagonist without the fuss, sympathy and pathos. The condition is explained as not what Suriya suffers in Ghajini (2005) but almost like Sridevi in Moondram Pirai (Sadma). It's a treat to watch one of Tamil cinema's celebrated comedians not get mined for easy gags. 'Life must be pretty easy for you,' Dhayalan says. 'You can commit any crime and not have memories of it.' Pillai's response comes almost as a punch to the gut: 'What's life if there are no memories?' Yuvan Shankar Raja does well to punctuate the scene with silence and no background music. The duo ride past lush, green fields, run into a goat and smooth-talk out of the situation and break out into an impromptu rendition of Aaha inba nilavinile, a song from the 1957 epochal hit Maya Bazar. There are passing meta references to Vadivelu's Madurai origins and Faasil as the master actor. Kalaiselvan Sivaji's cinematography ensures you're looking at a video of Tamil Nadu tourism, highlighting its beauty. It feels like the Kamal Haasan, Madhavan-starrer Anbe Sivam met the Steve Martin drama Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Importantly, Faasil and Vadivelu bring their A-game to the fore and you're left spellbound. Maamannan (2023) had the two in opposing camps, but here they're together. They hit it out of the park with their earthy and authentic portrayals. There's little to dislike. A stage drama that renders Ilayaraja's yesteryear hit Nethu oruthara oruthara paathen dovetails into the narrative seamlessly. Yet, you keep wondering that something's gotta give… and the rat and snake. Something does give, during the interval block, or in the lead-up to the interval, when what seems like a slice-of-life drama enters thriller territory. And that's when Maareesan mis-steps. The second half ditches everything it had built in the first half and goes in for a different tone. You'd be forgiven for rubbing your eyes and wondering if you entered the wrong theatre. It shifts gears, yes, but the shift feels too abrupt. A bulging flashback that could have done with some trimming, police praising vigilantes and a perfunctory twist in the end. If you were wide-eyed with wonder until the interval, you'd turn wide-eyed with disappointment in the second. The routines and formulae that Tamil cinema was beholden to over the decades return with a vengeance. And as a viewer, all you can do is sigh. A twist in the end saves the proceedings a bit, as Faasil and Vadivelu hold it all together. The character Maareesan from the Hindu epic Ramayana is a master of disguise, but in the movie you wish the disguise was limited.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Florida python challenge: Why state recommends not eating invasive snakes
Editor's note: This story originally published in 2024. Python hunter Bayo Hernandez prefers his snake ground up like hamburger meat with ketchup, mustard, and mayo. Another hunter fancies the slithering scourge of the Everglades in a stir fry or chili. And there's always celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's recipe for diced python in a lettuce wrap with shallots, pineapple, and jalapeno. But the Florida Department of Health has recently established an advisory of 'do not consume python' caught in the state no matter the snake size because of the risk of unhealthy mercury levels in its meat. The recommendation, which irks at least one scientist who said pythons caught in the southwestern part of the state have lower mercury levels, means a nascent scheme to assist in the cull of the apex predators by making them dinner-table fare is a no-go. 'It's unfortunate. I don't know how much help it would have been if people were consuming pythons, but it certainly doesn't hurt,' said Darren Rumbold, a Florida Gulf Coast University professor of marine and Earth science. Similar to fish, the department could have made portion recommendations or specified regions where mercury levels made it unsafe to eat animals caught there, Rumbold said. 'I think the health department was being overly cautious by saying let's not let anybody eat it,' he said. It's unclear when the python consumption advisory was issued. Multiple calls and emails to the department of health were not returned. But the toxicology results on 487 snakes reviewed by the department, and that led to the advisory, were explained in a March 8, 2024, letter to FWC's non-native wildlife coordinator McKayla Spencer, The letter, which was obtained through a request to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, was from health department administrator Michael Mitchell. It notes that because there is no known meal size for snakes, the standard 8 ounces used for fish was also used in the python testing. In addition to testing mercury levels in fish harvested from both fresh and marine waters, Mitchell said the FWC has also tested mercury levels in pythons because 'consumers are asking if the meat is safe to eat.' More: Florida python hunter recounts bloody battle: 'She got me, son' The result by the health department in conjunction with FWC was a 'Do Not Consume Python' advisory. That doesn't mean its against the law to eat python, it's just not recommended, according to FWC's Python Challenge website. State officials monitor mercury levels because the naturally occurring chemical element is a neurotoxin that can impair brain functioning, harm the kidneys and damage the nervous systems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It's especially harmful to unborn babies and young children. Hernandez, who is a contract python hunter for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), said he knows mercury levels can be high in pythons. It's not a meal he has every day. 'But there are many recipes out there and you can experiment,' he said. 'If you do it in chunks, it's very hard and chewy. How you season it is how it's going to taste.' More: Post archives: Legendary rock star hunts Burmese pythons in Florida Rumbold studied python mercury levels in areas near Naples. He published a paper in 2019 in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology about the findings. His co-author was Ian Bartoszek of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Their study found lower mercury levels in southwest Florida snakes than those in Everglades National Park. Park pythons were found in a 2012 study by the U.S. Geological Survey to have 'astonishingly high' levels of mercury. Much of the mercury in Florida comes from pollution in the sky, raining down from towering clouds that grab it in the upper levels of the atmosphere. Burning coal, oil and wood can release mercury into the air. In Everglades National Park, the mercury can mix with sulfur coming from agriculture upstream. The sulfur oxidizes to sulfate, which energizes microbes that turn mercury into methylmercury, which is what accumulates in the food chain. Because it's drier in southwest Florida, there's less mercury-heavy fish being consumed by animals that are then consumed by pythons, Rumbold said. 'The mercury biomagnifies as it gets passed through the food chain. The more pythons are integrated into an aquatic food web, the likelier they are to have mercury,' Rumbold said. The 2019 study also found little correlation between python size, age and mercury level. In the ocean, the largest, oldest fish that have been feeding on smaller prey generally have the highest concentrations of mercury. Rumbold thinks the health department could have selectively chosen to allow python consumption from snakes caught in the southwest area of the state, similar to advisories issued for fish based on where they are caught. 'They don't want to have to monitor pythons over time, so they don't want to issue anything that is region specific,' Rumbold said. Florida earnestly began hunting pythons in about 2012. In 2017, the South Florida Water Management District and FWC began a more structured program to hire python hunters. More than 14,500 pythons have been removed since the FWC and the district teamed up to combat the invasive species. The most pythons removed in a single year was 2,629 in 2020. The hype around Florida's python hunters and the annual Python Challenge has attracted rocker Ozzy Osbourne, who participated in a hunt for his show 'Ozzy & Jack's World Detour.' Chef Gordon Ramsey caught and cooked a python for his show 'The F Word.' Ramsay said the python was dry and sinewy, so he added bacon fat and ground it up the way Hernandez likes it. Hernandez said he also eats invasive iguanas. 'Whenever my kids come over I surprise them,' Hernandez said. 'If you ask my oldest son what is the weirdest thing he's eaten, he will say, 'I don't know, ask my dad.'' Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@ Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Burmese pythons: Florida snakes can be eaten but mercury levels high
The Herald
15-07-2025
- General
- The Herald
Mystery of huge python found in Durban
Where did the more than three-metre python found 'hanging round' on a patch of bush next to the M19 in New Germany, west of Durban, come from? Even experienced snake rescuer Nick Evans is baffled. On Thursday, Evans made his way to the M19 after eThekwini Municipality contacted him about a python in the vicinity. 'There's no pythons there, it will be a black mamba, I said. There probably was a python population in the vicinity many, many decades ago, but they've since been wiped out. Though, it would be a little unusual to be a mamba too, just more likely. It was on the island between the off-ramp to Otto Volek Road and the M19. It's built-up all around there, except for the small New Germany Nature Reserve. And the reserve isn't known for its mambas.' 'Anyway, on Thursday, I followed them to the spot where they had been seeing the big snake. When we arrived, I got out of my car, armed with my tongs, ready to catch the mamba. Then they pointed out the snake.' 'I was shocked, it was a python,' explained Evans. Evans put his tongs back and approached the 'basking beast of a snake'. 'I walked right up to it — easy catch, I thought, as I was about to grab its head. Of course, catches are rarely easy. It exploded into action. No, not attacking me like in the movie Anaconda . It was going in the opposite direction, into thicker bush. I had to catch this snake. It had no future here. 'I grabbed the tail, but as it peed in my hands as always, it was starting to slip out of my grip. Up stepped Joseph. He came to help me and grabbed the tail end, just as I was losing it. Together, we pulled and pulled and I could feel us 'winning' the tug of war. I let go of it and moved forward to go for the head, which I quickly got. The wrestling match was over,' Evans said. He said he would not have caught the snake if it were not for the other man's help. 'The pic doesn't do it justice. It's a big snake. Where did it come from? Your guess is as good as mine. I don't believe it's an escaped pet. Southern African pythons are a protected species, illegal to keep and make terrible pets as they do not calm down. Sometimes they're kept illegally in cruel conditions, not as pets, but for scamming reasons, but such snakes usually have injuries on their snouts from attempting to escape. 'I don't believe it came from New Germany as there's no population there. It wouldn't have caught a lift in a light motor vehicle, like other snakes do. Too big. There's an industrial area nearby. Maybe, just maybe, it got into a truck somewhere and got brought to the New Germany area,' added Evans. TimesLIVE
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
UF researchers deploy robotic rabbits across South Florida to fight Burmese python explosion
Scattered in python hot spots among the cypress and sawgrass of South Florida is the state's newest weapon in its arsenal to battle the invasive serpent, a mechanical lure meant to entice the apex predator to its ultimate demise. Just don't call it the Energizer bunny. Researchers at the University of Florida have outfitted 40 furry toy rabbits with motors and tiny heaters that work together to mimic the movements and body temperature of a marsh rabbit — a favorite python meal. They spin. They shake. They move randomly, and their creation is based on more than a decade of scientific review that began with a 2012 study that transported rabbits into Everglades National Park to see if, and how quickly, they would become python prey. 'The rabbits didn't fare well,' said Robert McCleery, a UF professor of wildlife ecology and conservation who is leading the robot bunny study that launched this summer. Subsequent studies revealed that pythons are drawn to live rabbits in pens with an average python attraction rate of about one python per week. But having multiple live rabbits in multiple pens spread across a formidable landscape is cumbersome and requires too much manpower to care for them. So, why not robot bunnies? 'We want to capture all of the processes that an actual rabbit would give off,' McCleery said. 'But I'm an ecologist. I'm not someone who sits around making robots.' Instead, colleague Chris Dutton, also a UF ecology professor but more mechanically adept, pulled the stuffing out of a toy rabbit and replaced it with 30 electronic components that are solar-powered and controlled remotely so that researchers can turn them on and off at specific times. The rabbits were placed in different areas of South Florida in July 2025 for a test phase that includes a camera programmed to recognize python movement and alert researchers when one nears the rabbit pen. One of the biggest challenges was waterproofing the bunnies so that the correct temperature could still be radiated. Python challenge: Why state recommends not eating Florida pythons McCleery was reluctant to give specifics on where the rabbit pens are located. 'I don't want people hunting down my robo-bunnies,' he said. Version 2.0 of the study will add bunny scent to the stuffed rabbits if motion and heat aren't enough to fool the snakes. State efforts to mitigate python proliferation have included a myriad of efforts with varying degrees of success. Renowned snake hunters from the Irula tribe in India were brought in to hunt and share their skills. There have been tests using near-infrared cameras for python detection, special traps designed, and pythons are tracked by the DNA they shed in water, with radio telemetry, and with dogs. Also, the annual Florida Python Challenge has gained legendary status, attracting hundreds of hunters each year vying for the $10,000 grand prize. This year's challenge runs July 11 through July 20. As of the first day of the challenge, there were 778 registered participants, from 29 states and Canada. But possibly the highest profile python elimination program is the 100 bounty hunters who work for the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The hunters have removed an estimated 15,800 snakes since 2019 and were called the 'most effective management strategy in the history of the issue' by district invasive animal biologist Mike Kirkland. Kirkland oversees the district's hunters. He gave a presentation July 7 to the Big Cypress Basin Board with updates on python removal that included McCleery's robo-bunny experiment, which the district is paying for. 'It's projects like (McCleery's) that can be used in areas of important ecological significance where we can entice the pythons to come out of their hiding places and come to us,' Kirkland said at the board meeting. 'It could be a bit of a game changer.' The Burmese python invasion started with releases — intentional or not — that allowed them to gain a foothold in Everglades National Park by the mid-1980s, according to the 2021 Florida Python Control plan. By 2000, multiple generations of pythons were living in the park, which is noted in a more than 100-page 2023 report that summarized decades of python research. Pythons have migrated north from the park, with some evidence suggesting they may be able to survive as far north as Georgia if temperatures continue to warm and more pythons learn to burrow during cold snaps. More: Snake hunters catch 95% of pythons they see. Help sought to kill the ones that are hiding In Palm Beach County, 69 pythons have been captured since 2006, according to the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System, or EDDMapS. In addition, four have been found dead, and 24 sightings have been reported. Big Cypress Basin board member Michelle McLeod called McCleery's project a 'genius idea' that eliminates the extra work it would take to manage live rabbits. McCleery said he's pleased that the water management district and FWC, which has paid for previous studies, are willing to experiment. 'Our partners have allowed us to trial these things that may sound a little crazy,' McCleery said. 'Working in the Everglades for 10 years, you get tired of documenting the problem. You want to address it.' McCleery said researchers did not name the robot rabbits, although he did bring one home that needed repair. His son named it 'Bunbun.' Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@ Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Python challenge: Robot bunny new weapon to fight invasive in Florida
