In the Florida Everglades, there is an annual competition called the Florida Python Challenge. The challenge is meant to deal with the Burmese python population in the state which has become an issue.
800 Snake Hunters Showed Up for the Florida Python Challenge in the Everglades
As veteran hunter Dusty Crum explained while speaking with NewsNation, people will bring a Burmese python to Florida, raise it, and simply release it. This is because once the python reaches adulthood, it needs to eat than what most owners can provide.
As an invasive species, the Burmese python has wrecked certain bird and mammal populations. Crum mentioned that the rabbit population is done since “they’re the easiest of prey.”
They’ve even added other reptiles to its diet. Also, female pythons—the main target of the Florida Python Challenge—can have 50 to 100 eggs at a time.
While ridding the Sunshine State of Burmese pythons looks impossible, controlling the population isn’t. As Dusty Crum put it “More hunters equals more snakes caught. That’s a huge win for the Everglades.”
The Challenge offered up to $2,500 for catching the most in the amateur and pro categories. There was also a reward for the longest python caught. Since 2000, roughly 17,000 pythons have been removed from Florida’s ecosystem.
Estimates of the python population in the state range from 30,000 to 300,000.
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