The American Crocodile was known as the king of the Everglades in South Florida. That was until the Burmese Python invasion began. The crocodile was the invasive species in Florida, but the python population has far exceeded the croc’s population . In 1992, the python population was at a low of about 1000 in Miami after Hurricane Andrew hit. One facility owned over 1000 pythons that escaped during the hurricane. That number has increased to about 30,000 to 100,000 snakes in the Everglades according to Nature. Org.
The Burmese Pythons are nonvenomous and native to parts of South Asia like Nepal, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, and Indonesia. They prefer climates that are tropical or subtropical, which is why they fancy parts of South Florida. Pythons have a few defense mechanisms that go unnoticed by some people until they try to pick it up. Once the snake goes into defense mode, it urinates, squirts, and defecates a liquid substance associated with a bad odor. Ehow.com states that “Pythons can grow from a measly 23 inches as a hatchling to an enormous 33 feet, and they can consume over 200 pounds over five years” . Bigger pythons can prey on large animals such as pigs, antelope, goats, deer and crocodiles whereas Rock pythons need only a certain amount of food that is equal to their weight and not eat for several months. Pythons are ambush predators that kill their prey by suffocating and choking. Once the python is ready to eat, it dislocates its jaw and swallows the kill whole. The pythons in Florida prey on raccoons, opossums, domestic pets, birds, and even five foot alligators.
The Burmese Python did not migrate to North America. They were shipped to North America from their native homeland and traded to other states to be sold as exotic pets, which helped make up Florida’s billion dollar pet trades. Considering that pythons can lay up to 100 eggs at a time, grow very quickly, and can eat over 200 pounds of food, they are very dangerous apex predators. This is a major problem for Florida’s ecosystem in the Everglades because that’s over 20,000 pounds of animals being eaten from one litter of snakes which can alter the balance of the food chain and the ecological balance.
The Burmese python problem happened more than 12 years ago and became an invasive species around 2009. scientists conducted a survey from 39,000 miles along the Everglades-area roads from 2003 through 2011, counting wildlife spotted along the way and comparing the results with surveys conducted on the same routes in 1996 and 1997. According to Dailymail.co.uk, the researchers found staggering declines in animal sightings: a drop of 99.3 percent among raccoons, 98.9 percent for opossums, 94.1 percent for white-tailed deer and 87.5 percent for bobcats.” This decline in animals could alter the ecosystem by decreasing the bobcat and fox population which prey on rabbits. It could also lead to an increase on turtle and crocodile eggs since the fox and bobcat population would decline.
Number of animals disappearing
Scientist now worry that the pythons may be able to survive in marine and estuarine environments such as bays, inlets and open seas and spread to other parts of South Florida, Georgia, and even the Islands. “In 2009, over a dozen of pythons were found in Key Largo threatening the endangered Key Largo wood rat and the rare round-tailed muskrat” (Sun-Sentinel.com). Biologists have also found that the Burmese python is becoming highly adaptable to other environments and are somewhat salt tolerant. They predict by 2100 about one-third of the U.S. could be invaded with pythons.
What is being done to stop the invasion?
Many conservation centers such as the Nature Conservancy, National Park Service, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission taught their staff how to catch the snakes using a treadmilling technique:
The treadmill technique is where the catcher drags his or her hands one after the other along the underbelly of the snake to make it think it’s getting away — and distraction of the snake by one person so another can capture it by surprise. Once the snake gets tired, the capturer firmly grabs at the base of the head and avoids the writhing body getting wrapped around his or her legs. Snakes captured in the wild are securely bagged, boxed, tagged and dropped off to a designated recipient for research or training (Nature.Org). So far this method has been successful, and over 1,825 pythons have been captured. Sometimes reserves put up bounties for people that are willing to train to go after the snakes. Once the snake has been captured, it is then euthanized.
Some groups are organized to gather people who do not want their pets anymore. Instead of releasing their exotic pets, they would hand them over to the group to take care of. Animal shelters, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and zoos are willing to take in unwanted pythons. Other prevention measures were to stop the importation within the states. As of January 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife made it illegal to import Burmese pythons or transport them across state lines. Many find this disturbing because they fear that the pet industry could suffer and so would Florida’s economy since the pet trade generates billions.
The Python Invasion: 