(WSVN) - The annual Florida Python Challenge is underway with hundreds of hunters competing for the championship prize.
With no natural predators in Florida, the Burmese pythons are on these hunters’ most wanted list.
First spotted in the Everglades in 1979, Burmese pythons are an invasive species, spreading parasites to native snakes and swallowing whatever wildlife they can catch. A female can lay up to 100 eggs at a time.
Mike Kirkland is the lead invasive biologist for the South Florida Water Management District. Over the last eight years, he and his team have rounded up as many as they could.
“Almost 16,000 pythons now from the landscape,” he said. “We believe Burmese pythons can get in excess of 20 feet long, so they are just an apex predator here in the Everglades. So all of our largest native animals are threatened by the Burmese python issue.”
The challenge aims to eradicate as many of them from the swamp as possible.
“When we start seeing the return of our native wildlife populations would be one really good measure of success,” Kirkland said.
This year, hunters could run into a newer type of python with a different look.
“The Conservancy of Southwest Florida and Naples has theorized that these labyrinth-patterned pythons that we’re fighting out towards the western side of the state are an indication that there’s actually a secondary introduction event into South Florida,” Kirkland said.
Organizations are finding marsh rabbits in areas they haven’t for years. Although it’s too early to tell if that’s a direct indicator of success, Kirkland says it’s important to stay optimistic.
This year’s challenge will run until July 20 at 5:00 p.m.
Participants can win up to $10,000 in prizes.
For registration, click here.
If you or anyone you know happens to come across a python or any other nonnative species, do not hesitate to contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission here or call the Invasive Species Hotline at 888-Ive-Got1 (483-4681).
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