Wild 8ft Burmese Python found in the Florida Everglades!

This is a wild Burmese python encountered on a rainy night in the Florida Everglades. Unfortunately this species is an invasive species disrupting the ecosystem. This individual was approximately 8 feet and was removed from the park by licensed officials.

Can't deny they are there! I've found 3 total (2 adults, 1 baby) within 3 nights of field herping in the Everglades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9_u5cLoAuc

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Originally Posted by tacticalveterinarian

This is a wild Burmese python encountered on a rainy night in the Florida Everglades. Unfortunately this species is an invasive species disrupting the ecosystem. This individual was approximately 8 feet and was removed from the park by licensed officials.

Can't deny they are there! I've found 3 total (2 adults, 1 baby) within 3 nights of field herping in the Everglades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9_u5cLoAuc

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I was under the impression that there were thousands of them in the EverGlades !?!

I'm sure I've seen a few programs where there were teams collecting loads each evening , truly massive sized ones as well .

I don't know what dingdongs are denying that they're there, because last I checked, there were still hundreds or thousands in the everglades LOL.

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I was under the impression that there were thousands of them in the EverGlades !?!

I'm sure I've seen a few programs where there were teams collecting loads each evening , truly massive sized ones as well .

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That is largely a matter of some debate after a few bad winters I think.

The barkers (vpi.com ) are probably a good place to start looking for recent information. Also greg graziani There is a lot of debate about how far / if they will spread or thrive.

It's very difficult to truly get an accurate population estimate, but they are definitely well established! The Everglades is such a large park and you can walk right by a large python coiled in the dense brush without noticing it.

hopefully we can find some use for these and other invasive species. If they become worth the time and effort to collect people will do it themselves.

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Originally Posted by Ba11er

hopefully we can find some use for these and other invasive species. If they become worth the time and effort to collect people will do it themselves.

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There's probably not something equivalent to this you could so with pythons, but there's a dog treat company here in St. Louis that's catching the invasive Asian carp species we're dealing with and making them into various types of dog treats. That's pretty awesome to me.

I have heard that the main problem with these Florida burms (as far as finding a "use" for them) is that they were evaluated and found to contain unsafe levels of mercury in their flesh. A lot of people had hoped to hunt them as a local source of exotic meat, from what I've read.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...b75edce3a3.png

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...f32bb1b575.png




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Yikes. That's really unfortunate.

NOT my drawing- an amusing thing someone posted about the burmese pythons in Florida.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...vx5o1_1280.jpg

All joking aside, they probably really are adapting to the cold, growing larger and faster than ever before. Natural selection would favor larger specimens in Florida more so than in continental Southeast Asia.

1) larger mass would be more likely to withstand Everglade cold snaps that are nonexistent in Burma. Reptiles don't generate their own body heat but a 100 pound Burm loses heat less rapidly vs a 10 pounder.

2) the significant decline in the population of small and medium prey leaves primarily only larger prey, e.g. deer, which fall prey most easily to the largest Burms. Significant declines in populations of raccoons, possums, bobcats, etc, have already been noted.

They're beautiful snakes really, just a shame they've become invasive.

i haven't been down to the everglades in just over a year. last time i was there, only saw a few birds.

might have to go down again next weekend, since there are no NFL games scheduled.

Personally I think those guys are wasting their time trying to kill all of the Burmese pythons in Florida. it's like going in your back yard and stomping on ants every day hoping you'll kill them all, it will never happen. Especially since every snake can have about 50 eggs every year. I think it's time to accept that they were once an invasive species but now they are a natural part of the ecosystem and the ecosystem will have to adjust and adapt. in 10,000 years there will still be Burmese pythons in Florida, at what point to we call them a natural part of the environment? And if you think about it on a geological scale over millions of years I suppose you could consider human beings an invasive species in Florida LOL.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

NOT my drawing- an amusing thing someone posted about the burmese pythons in Florida.

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https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...%2FtYHCPGx.jpg