Deadly Burmese pythons in the Everglades (snakes, snake, feathers, pet)

[no kudzu]

My Florida friends tell me this problem has gotten out of hand. They sometimes end up in homes and neighborhoods eating pets and scarring adults and children alike.

War Veterans Versus Pythons in Florida Everglades - ABC News

[uggabugga]

i love snakes, but having these run amok in the everglades is a disaster

[MJ7]

Yup, and it's all legal because you can legally own them in that state. I use to live there and what happened as people would buy these baby pythons, but when they got too big they would just let them go into the glades.

[uggabugga]

one of the great yet terrible things about florida - so many different critters [not to mention plants] can live and thrive there.

List of invasive species in the Everglades - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[rainroosty]

Overblown and sensationalized gossip that is out of proportion and exaggerated - and it is also NOT legal to have those snakes for pets here.
It is also wonderful that Florida is a place that living creatures can thrive.

[zoomzoom3]

They are so invasive and such a threat to the environment down here that you can kill them on sight legally. A friend of mine encountered one on a trail near his home & went and got his shotgun & took care of it.

[Mattie]

Originally Posted by rainroosty

Overblown and sensationalized gossip that is out of proportion and exaggerated - and it is also NOT legal to have those snakes for pets here.
It is also wonderful that Florida is a place that living creatures can thrive.

Bullfeathers. It isn't overblown, it's an ecological disaster for the native species:
USGS Release: Severe Declines in Everglades Mammals Linked to Pythons (1/30/2012 2:52:18 PM)

They are not really a big problem for residents, yet, but as their food sources dry up in the Everglades, they certainly will be.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by Mattie

Bullfeathers. It isn't overblown, it's an ecological disaster for the native species:
USGS Release: Severe Declines in Everglades Mammals Linked to Pythons (1/30/2012 2:52:18 PM)

They are not really a big problem for residents, yet, but as their food sources dry up in the Everglades, they certainly will be.

But also keep in mind one of their big "paid hunts" had very few "kills".....indicating they might not be as prevalent as once thought.

There Won't Be Another Public Python Hunt In The Florida Everglades

1600 hunters found 68 snakes......pet stores have a bigger supply!

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

My Florida friends tell me this problem has gotten out of hand. They sometimes end up in homes and neighborhoods eating pets and scarring adults and children alike.

War Veterans Versus Pythons in Florida Everglades - ABC News

Has your friend even seen one?

[Mattie]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

But also keep in mind one of their big "paid hunts" had very few "kills".....indicating they might not be as prevalent as once thought.

There Won't Be Another Public Python Hunt In The Florida Everglades

1600 hunters found 68 snakes......pet stores have a bigger supply!

That isn't because they aren't there, it's because they are so difficult to spot. Estimates right now are that there are over 100,000 in the Everglades, and the numbers are growing daily because they have no natural predators.

Big but nearly invisible in the wild, officials give up on evicting pythons from Everglades - The Washington Post