EVERGLADES, FLA. (WSVN) — A pair of python hunters stumbled across a python swim party that might offer new insights into their nesting patterns in Florida.
Professional python hunters Guillermo Tapanes and Matthew Kogo were out hunting in the Everglades near the border of Broward and Palm Beach counties, Saturday, when they spotted something strange in the water.
“He’s angry, but he doesn’t know who to be angry at,” said Kogo while holding a python in a video shared with 7News.
The duo was not expecting to find any snakes, but stumbled across an unbelievable find.
“There are pythons in the water, right?” said Tapanes, as they neared a pond.
“Yes,” said Kogo.
In the pond, they found not one but several pythons swimming around in circles.
The pair realized what they found was very likely a nesting area for the pythons.
“They’re spread out from there to here, but there’s a big female that keeps doing loops, keeps coming to her,” said Kogo.
Kogo said the temptation to dive into the waters was strong, but he had no chance of handling any of them in open water due to their tendency to spook easily.
He suspects what they found was likely the formation of a “breeding ball,” which is how the invasive species reproduces on elevated banks and tree islands.
What would make this particular discovery unique is that it would mark the first documented nesting pattern in the state of Florida.
The two men called other hunters to marvel at what they discovered, with some getting a closer encounter.
“Oh, my God, we’re going insane here. Tina’s halfway into the water. Guillermo is a scoutmaster, he’s making sure we don’t miss anything,” said Kogo.
On a day they didn’t expect to find anything exciting, they ended up staying near the pond late into the evening, observing the nest. No pythons were captured.
Kogo hopes that any new knowledge of the python’s behavior will help control the population.
The invasive apex predator has expanded its reproductive range north from the Everglades National Park to Lake Okeechobee and into the suburbs of Fort Myers.
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