Pythons in Everglades a low risk to people, state says

[ER12]

Pythons in Everglades a low risk to people, state says

They kill alligators, great blue herons and full-grown deer. But are Burmese pythons likely to attack a human enjoying a pleasant hike in the Everglades?

State and federal wildlife officials say no.

Scott Hardin, exotic species coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said most Everglades pythons are too small to kill people and exist in areas where the primary hazard to people remains the alligator. Although a 15.7-foot python was discovered last week digesting a deer in western Miami-Dade County, he said these snakes are highly unlikely to be aggressive toward people.

"I'll never say the danger is zero," Hardin said. "If a snake that size wrapped you up you'd be in trouble. But snakes that size are extremely rare. The ones brought in are in the 4-to-8-foot range."

Federal environmental assessments have found little evidence of human deaths from Burmese pythons in their native southern Asia.

Virtually all fatalities have resulted from pet snakes escaping and attacking their owners or their owners' family members, according to studies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey. But the danger does exist theoretically, and one federal report recommends keeping children in known python habitats away from grassy thickets and water.

Burmese pythons established a breeding population in the Everglades several years ago, having arrived as escaped or deliberately released pets. The vast majority live south of Interstate 75, most clustering within a few miles of Tamiami Trail, Hardin said.

Florida last year banned the purchase of Burmese pythons and seven other reptiles as pets, allowing only dealers, exhibitors and researchers to own them.

The Obama administration proposed in January, 2010 to ban the import and interstate movement of Burmese pythons, green anacondas, Northern African pythons and six other snakes as "injurious species" for their threat to native habitats.

The proposal, currently under review, faces a fight from the U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers, which has pressed its case with White House officials. Andrew Wyatt, the group's president, said the proposal relies on an exaggerated assessment of the threat and would cost jobs. "A listing would destroy the captive bred industry in pythons without providing any pragmatic solutions to the problems limited to the southern tip of Florida," he wrote in a comment on the proposal.

Wayne Pacelle, chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States, blamed the delay on the administration's excessive concern for the reptile industry.

"I'm disgusted that the Obama administration is delaying as the crisis continues to spread," he said. "There are thousands of large constricting snakes being imported into the United States. It's contributing to animal cruelty, it's threatening our fragile southern ecosystems and it does not make common sense to allow it to continue."

Ken Warren, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the administration was taking the time to make the right decision.

"If we're going to be responsible we have to take our time and make sure we get it right," he said.
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/02...-low-risk.html

[EverEvolvingExotics]

Thanks for sharing, great article.

[heathers*bps]

Good read. Thank you for sharing!

[mr.spooky]

on one hand,, it would be nice to see something that would "scare" people out of certain areas... maby this "giant snake" scare will keep people from destroying the everyglades just a little bit sooner than they will anyway..
we are a wastful, self destructive creature after all.
spooky

[Ezekiel285]

on one hand,, it would be nice to see something that would "scare" people out of certain areas... maby this "giant snake" scare will keep people from destroying the everyglades just a little bit sooner than they will anyway..
we are a wastful, self destructive creature after all.
spooky

now we just need to find a dinosaur and release it there

[Bestinthehaven]

im with mr spooky. call me crazy but the thought of having a giant snake living in wild populations in north america makes me smile. and lets not pull punches... if they rarely eat thos tiny people in asia, what makes anyone think they are gonna try to tackle our fat american asses. seriously. let them alone, let them kill of the nutria and other vermin that really pose a problem down there. who knows maybe in a few years there will be enough to have a regulated hunting season for them, and if you really want that snake skin wallet or belt or boots, or all of the above if it's big enough, go get one yourself. i think that would be great especially if they said "hey, these things arent the fastest animals on earth, lets even the odds... hunting burmese pythons is legal with a spear only. harvesting with any other method is illegal." that would seperate the men from the boys... just sayin

[jmitch]

There already is a open hunting season on them, and if they only killed vermin it maybe ok. But the are killing endangered birds. Also they are direct competion for alligators.

[snake lab]

If you are hiking in the glades then i think a gator is gonna getcha before a burm will.

[Brian Miller]

The Burmese are not my concern, reading reports of this stuff i came across something that gave me some cause for concern that has nothing to do with pythons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/us/08pythons.html

While reading this article i came across an eyewitness report that if proved to be true is a MUCH bigger problem than Burmese.

But on a hunting trip in the Southern Glades, a 30,000-acre tract that abuts Everglades National Park, Mr. Freer struggled to shake a sense of melancholy.

The area has become a dumping ground littered with both human ruin — a shuttered fish farm, a closed juvenile detention camp and a former rocket test site — and abandoned animals. In addition to the pythons, Mr. Freer said he had come across cobras and black mambas, emus and ostriches. Since the recession started, he said, he has seen more horses that owners can apparently no longer afford to feed.


Does everyone see the "elephant in the room".. true climate should help control the population of these species, but still I would rather come across a Burmese anyday.... just saying...

[Dragoon]

I guess I can hold on to the warm and fuzzy dream that Wayne Pacelle will just shut up and go away .