Anacondas and Pythons in Naples Area? (Miami, Everglades: default, news , snake)

[GrannyII]

Have these snakes started appearing in this area? I was told that none have been found in the city limits of Naples, but the sheriff's office referred me to the state for answers about the outlying areas. No answer, yet.

[yachtcare]

Spiders and Snakes!!! Oh My!!!
A year, maybe two ago, there was a well circulated photo of a Python, tat had exploded while attempting to swallow a alligator whole. I know it was in the Everglades somewhere, but cant recall the exact location.
Using the USGS alert system website, that tracks sitings of exotic species all over the country, I found two sitings of "Yellow Anacondas" in Collier county. Almost exactly a year apart. On 01/30/07 a male specimin was taken near the toll booth to Alligator alley. On 02/02/08 another specimin was taken a bit further south, it wasnt mentioned if this one was male or female, so I guess no way to tell if it was the same one. These are generally thought to be pets, that get a little to big to handle, so their owners just release them into the wild. After taking some stats on them, they are re-released by the state, so I imagine they arent thought to be much of a threat.
If you care to perouse the info yourself, the website is NAS - Alerts

Hope this helps

[mytimenow]

I haven't heard of anything in the Naples area -- that "exploded" python they found was over on the east coast side of the everglades, outside of Miami, I forget the town, but you can see a program about it on the Discovery channel every once in a while. I have heard about exotic snakes found up in Lee County -- maybe because you can keep exotic animals in the more rural areas up there? As of yesterday, they have documented proof of Coyotes in Naples (South east area near Rookery Bay), but that's all I've heard about.

[yachtcare]

Bears, in Collier and Lee counties, and Iguanas(BIG, mean, lizards) in southern Charlotte, and northern Lee counties have been in the news as of late also. The Iguanas have been causing the most problems, from what I understand. But the Coyotes have been attacking, and killing pets recently, so are likely to be getting the most press in the near future.
Thanks for the clarification on the Python story as well, remember I saw it, couldnt recall where.