Burmese python

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This $500K Robot Army Only Needs to Look, Smell Good

Florida officials optimistic about ongoing effort to attract the invasive Burmese python

(Newser) - They look, move and even smell like the kind of furry Everglades marsh rabbit a Burmese python would love to eat. But these bunnies are robots meant to lure the giant invasive snakes out of their hiding spots. It's the latest effort by the South Florida Water Management District...

Florida's Python Hunt Scores a Record Haul

Hunters remove nearly 300 invasive snakes in 10 days

(Newser) - A record haul marked this year's Florida Python Challenge, with nearly 300 Burmese pythons removed from the wild, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials. The 10-day event, which ran from July 11 to 20, saw a significant jump in participation—934 hunters from 30 states...

Robot Rabbits Join Florida's Fight Against Invasive Snakes
In Fight Against Pythons,
Florida Stuffs 40 Toy Bunnies
in case you missed it
Aug 9, 2025 1:00 PM CDT

In Fight Against Pythons, Florida Stuffs 40 Toy Bunnies

Robotic rabbits join state's battle against invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades

(Newser) - Florida's ongoing battle with invasive Burmese pythons has gone high tech, with wildlife teams now deploying robotic rabbits to help find and capture the elusive snakes. The solar-powered, remote-controlled decoys look and smell like marsh rabbits—favored python prey—and even emit heat signatures to lure the snakes...

Python Scarfs Down Entire 77-Pound Deer

In the Florida Everglades

(Newser) - Florida researchers tracking snakes in the Everglades were recently treated to quite an "impressive feat": a female Burmese python devouring a 77-pound white-tailed deer, whole. And they've released the footage of when they made their discovery, showing the python's mouth stretched to 93% of its maximum gape,...

It's Open Season on Florida Pythons Again

Annual Florida Python Challenge gives state a chance to cull invasive species

(Newser) - Friday marked the start of the annual Florida Python Challenge, where hunters head into the Everglades to track down invasive Burmese pythons in hopes of grabbing a share of $30,000 in prizes. The annual 10-day hunt, which started more than a decade ago, promotes public awareness of issues with...

Pythons Were Once in a Sliver of Florida. No More

They're now in the bottom third of the state, and spreading rapidly

(Newser) - Good news, anyone who's terrified of a) snakes or b) Florida ! You now have basically absolutely no reason to visit the Sunshine State, or perhaps the soon-to-be Python State. As the Sun-Sentinel reports, the population of invasive Burmese pythons has gone from a few in the very southern tip...

Florida Teen Captures 28 Pythons, Gets Top Prize

1K people took part in 10-day contest

(Newser) - A 19-year-old South Florida man captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state's ecology. Matthew Concepcion was among the 1,000 participants from 32 states, Canada, and Latvia who participated in the annual...

Feds: Smuggler Stashed Pythons in His Pants

He was caught after crossing Canadian border

(Newser) - A New York City man has been hit with a federal smuggling charge, more than four years after authorities said he was caught with pythons in his pants. Authorities say Calvin Bautista, 36, tried to smuggle three Burmese pythons into the US on a bus from Canada but was caught...

'Dionysus' Leads Team to Record-Breaking Python

At nearly 18 feet, female was biggest python ever captured in Florida

(Newser) - A team of biologists recently hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida, officials say. The female python weighed in at 215 pounds, was nearly 18 feet long and had 122 developing eggs, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida said in a news release . The team used radio transmitters...

For the First Time, Bobcat Is Seen Eating Python Eggs
'Man, That's One Brave Bobcat'
Mar 16, 2022 3:08 PM CDT

'Man, That's One Brave Bobcat'

Everglades animal raided invasive python nest, ate eggs

(Newser) - Invasive Burmese pythons have been squeezing the life out of the Florida Everglades for decades—but researchers say one species of native mammal is learning to fight back. Video captured by United States Geological Survey cameras shows a bobcat repeatedly raiding an unguarded python nest to eat eggs and clashing...

Florida Sets Prizes for Removing Burmese Pythons

Invasive snakes have no natural predators and are wreaking havoc in the Everglades

(Newser) - Professional python hunters and amateurs alike have a chance to win prizes in Florida's annual hunt for the biggest snakes—the Burmese pythons that are ravaging the state's native species. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state's annual contest on Thursday: It will run from July 9 to...

Thousands of Pythons Removed From Everglades

Namely, 5K since 2017

(Newser) - Burmese pythons have invaded the Florida Everglades and are wreaking havoc, and last week, the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced it has removed 5,000 of them from the ecosystem since a python elimination program was established in 2017. The snakes, which likely got established after pets were...

The Python Hunters Barely Make a Dent. That's OK
The Python Hunters Barely
Make a Dent. That's OK
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 24, 2020 1:45 PM CDT

The Python Hunters Barely Make a Dent. That's OK

Inside the annual hunt for the invasive species

(Newser) - If you assume the alligator is the king of the heap when it comes to Everglades predators, you could be wrong at this point. "I found alligators in them," says Donna Kalil. The 57-year-old python elimination specialist for the South Florida Water Management District is talking about Burmese...

Before Miami's Super Bowl, a Massive Snake Hunt

'Python Bowl' participants to hunt down invasive Burmese pythons for cash and prizes

(Newser) - Miami's upcoming Super Bowl will mean death for dozens of invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades—and wildlife officials say that's a good thing. The game's organizing committee is working with Florida to promote the Python Bowl, a 10-day contest that began Friday that will give out...

Wildlife Workers Have Clever Way to Find Florida Pythons
Wildlife Workers Have Clever
Way to Find Florida Pythons
in case you missed it
Jul 20, 2019 2:00 PM CDT

Wildlife Workers Have Clever Way to Find Florida Pythons

'Sentinel' males fitted with radio transmitters lead them to breeding females in Everglades

(Newser) - The headline at Smithsonian magazine is "The Snakes That Ate Florida," and the accompanying story makes clear there isn't much hyperbole going on. The story looks at the explosion of Burmese pythons in the Everglades. These invasive creatures—which likely got their start in the area when...

Largest Python Found in Everglades Packed a Secret
Largest Python
Found in Everglades
Packed a Secret
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 14, 2019 9:48 AM CDT

Largest Python Found in Everglades Packed a Secret

17-foot female was carrying 73 eggs

(Newser) - Snake hunters trying to rid the Florida Everglades of invasive Burmese pythons used a new method to make a record-breaking catch. A team at Big Cypress National Preserve caught a 17-foot 140-pound female python, the longest python ever caught in the Everglades, the Guardian reports. The snake contained 73 "...

New Python Hybrid May Spell Future Trouble in Everglades

A DNA study found a genetically mixed species that could lead to a more vigorous invader

(Newser) - A genetic study has found a new and dangerous possibility lurking in the DNA of Florida's invasive pythons. Per the Miami Herald , researchers from the US Geological Survey tested hundreds of the Everglades' already worryingly prolific giant snake species and what they found could mean an even hardier invader...

Biologists Find Bloated Snake, Shocked by What Comes Out

'We were ... trying to process that an animal this size could get its head around ... a deer'

(Newser) - Researchers studying invasive Burmese pythons in Florida came upon something they'd never seen before: an 11-foot-long python had consumed an entire deer that weighed more than the snake itself. The AP reports the wildlife biologists tracking the slithery creatures stumbled upon the bloated snake in Collier Seminole State Park,...

India Tribesmen Tackle Florida's Python Problem

They found 13 in first 8 days at it

(Newser) - After years of inviting the American public to try to help with its invasive python problem, Florida has brought in some experts from the snake's original territory. Two Irula tribesmen from India are working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to catch Burmese pythons in areas including the...

Surprise Find: Florida Python Ate 3 Deer

This is not good news for the Everglades ecosystem

(Newser) - Wildlife officials in Florida have known for a while that Burmese pythons have been eating their way through the Everglades, but the study of one particular snake has surprised them with the extent of that appetite: The 15-foot female had eaten three white-tailed deer in the 90 days before her...

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