Invasive, enormous, insatiable: What we know about the pythons destroying Florida's ecosystem

Burmese pythons are the bad boys of South Florida’s Everglades ecosystem and represent a huge threat to the native wildlife. So much so, that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission “has implemented several efforts to remove the large nonvenomous constrictors from our ecosystem — primarily by humanely killing them.” One of those events is the annual python challenges. Hundreds of hunters compete for $25,000 in cash prizes. But pythons camouflage very well and can move easily in and out of the water which makes them hard to find. Catching a python is also very dangerous, especially if you’re tangling with a 15-20 foot female loaded with eggs. It’s not for amateurs!

These pythons are naturally found in “India, lower China, the Malay Peninsula and some islands of the East Indies.” “Pythons arrived in Florida through the captive animal trade, and they were introduced through the accidental and/or purposeful release of these captive animals.” Since they are “semi-aquatic’ they are often found near the water and can hunt in the water as well. And pythons are “generalist predators” feeding on a wide variety of species and eat almost anything like native mammals, birds and reptiles. They also eat dogs, cats, and even alligators, although larger alligators will eat smaller pythons and vice-versa! But there is little if any evidence that any predator besides humans prey upon fully grown Burmese pythons.  The  pythons are creating a “trophic cascade” in the Everglades. We previously wrote an article on ecosystems, food chains, and trophic cascades, but to refresh your memory, it refers to changes in populations of predator and prey in the food chain which can have dramatic effects on the ecosystem in which they live.

The pythons are reproducing quite rapidly, and the populations of native animals are plummeting. Time is of the essence to figure out how we can remove a lot more pythons from the Everglade.    

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/nvasive-enormous-insatiable-what-we-know-about-the-pythons-destroying-floridas-ecosystem/3386679/

Photo by National Parks Service https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=3F4C9B3B-1DD8-B71C-078F792D3F1A85AF