May 2017

OUTDOORS
Burmese pythons
are eating their way
through the Everglades’
animal kingdom
by Dan Mackey
Group photo with Irusula tribesman.
Photo/Ed Metzger
SNAKES
ON THE LOOSE
by Mark Bohm
Living out west in Coral Springs,
Heron Bay, Parkland, and Boca
Raton brings numerous natural
rewards: an amazing panoramic view of
the Everglades with beautiful sunsets and
incomparable bird watching.
It also means sharing that beauty with
wildlife. Bobcats, opossums, raccoons,
and deer are valued as our unique natural
treasure. Yet according to state wildlife
officials, those very species are being
wiped out by a singularly hungry snake
that doesn’t belong here: the Burmese
python. Rabbits and foxes already have
shockingly vanished wherever pythons
now dominate, say wildlife researchers.
In the 1980s when pet snakes like
pythons grew too large to keep, their
owners “set them free” or they released
themselves. It’s also believed that many
more escaped when recent hurricanes
battered South Florida’s pet stores and
exotic animal importer warehouses.
Before long, these pesky Southeast
Asian natives established themselves
in the Everglades National Park, rapidly
breeding and expanding their range
northward.
Who can forget the unbelievable media
images of huge pythons attacking and
eating grown alligators, usurping the
mighty gator’s place as top predator in
the vast River of Grass?
Special hunts for Burmese pythons have
proved ineffective because the Glades
offer a very similar habitat to their home
where they easily hide in high grass.
Now researchers estimate there are at
least 100,000 of them slithering around
122
in South Florida. Each adult female
interloper reproduces an average of 30 –
and up to 100 – voracious little pythons
every year into Florida’s fragile ecosystem.
They have gobbled up untold numbers of
native animals and probably will never be
eradicated, according to scientists who
now only hope to keep their
numbers in check.
Burmese pythons are
non-venomous. Instead,
they constrict their prey,
literally squeezing the
life out of them before
slowly swallowing them
whole.
They are one of the most
feared species of snakes
because they can grow to
more than 20 feet long and
weigh 250 pounds. And the
fact that they do not fear
people, unlike most snakes,
makes them that more
dangerous.
So what should you do if
you encounter a Burmese
python in your yard? Your
best choice is to just let it be. Most snake
attacks are a result of the untrained trying
to capture or kill them. Odds are it’s
probably just passing through the area
anyway. So give it some time and space
to do just that.
If you have small children or pets that play
outside, never leave them unsupervised.
To exclude pythons and other snakes,
eliminate places for them to breed and
hide (remove brush piles, fill in under
MAY 2017
decks and sheds, plug holes and other
openings in the home exterior, keep your
grass trimmed).
And always remember: Though you may
fear them, most snakes are harmless and
they all benefit us by eating unwanted
bugs, mice, and rats.
If the python must be removed, call a
humane animal control professional or a
wildlife rehabilitation center. Report any
Burmese python sightings to the Florida
Wildlife Commission hotline:
1-888-IVE-GOT1 (1-888-483-4681) or
visit Ivegot1.org. P
Dan Mackey is a freelance writer who
lives in Coconut Creek.