CSI in the News - CSI Today

Well, not exactly.
The idea that scientists estimate the number of pythons living in the Everglades at 100,000 – or
150,000, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney of Tequesta ‐ is one of several
questionable facts and statistics that have helped propel the Everglades' five‐year‐old python problem
into headlines around the world this month.
Other claims include the fear that pythons, if ignored, will come to dominate the everglades food chain,
wiping out whole species, and eventually spread across the Southern third of the United States and into
our back yards.
In fact, the number of pythons in Everglades National Park is probably closer to around 30,000, park
biologists say.
What's more, pythons face numerous predators in the Everglades, raising the possibility that the
population growth could plateau well before significant numbers of the snakes find their way into our
back yards. And new research has cast doubt on an oft‐cited government study that says pythons could
spread well beyond South Florida latitudes.
Nobody disputes that pythons pose a threat to the ecosystem – in particular, to wading birds and the
dozens of other threatened or endangered species that live in the Everglades.
What is debatable is how much damage they could do. Biologists and snake experts note that some facts
have been skewed in the fun‐house mirror of sensational politics and news coverage.
"We've got a lot of politicians that are looking to get elected, and in this type of story, things get
exaggerated," said Greg Graziani, one of the original licensed python hunters and a professional breeder
from Venus, in Highlands County.
Most scientists agree that the non‐native pythons arrived in the Everglades when careless pet owners
released them or allowed them to escape as they grew too large. Another suspect is breeders whose
cages were destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Estimates that 150,000 pythons live in the Everglades are loosely based on "guesstimates" by Skip Snow,
an Everglades National Park wildlife biologist and resident python expert, of how many could live in the
Everglades, based on available habitat. In fact, Snow offers a wide range: 5,000 to 138,000.
"We don't know how many are out there," said Snow, who estimates the true number at around 30,000.
"We know that it's not hundreds, and clearly, everyone is comfortable saying there are thousands."
Experts, including researchers at the University of Florida, cite the exponential rise in the number of
pythons caught as evidence of population growth. But those statistics may be skewed by improved
intelligence and intensified efforts to locate and track the stealthy reptiles, concedes Bill Hallac, the
park's chief of biological resources.
From 1979 through 2001, park biologists never saw more than three snakes captured in any given year.
Since then, captures have risen sharply, jumping from 14 in 2002 to 343 last year ‐ for a cumulative total
of 1,074 as of early July.
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