Burmese pythons may be the most destructive foreign animal in Florida Everglades history.
The invasive snake was first recorded in the Everglades National Park in 1979 and quickly put a stranglehold on Florida’s wildlife. Burmese pythons can swim, burrow and climb trees, and they eat almost anything.
They’ve contributed to the decline of small mammals including raccoons, opossums, bobcats, foxes, marsh rabbits and cottontail rabbits, according to a 2012 study.
Moreover, a recent study revealed that Burmese pythons can eat prey much larger than previously reported. Scientists observed a Burmese python swallowing a 77-pound white-tailed deer, nearly 70 percent of the snake’s mass.
The non-native snakes have proliferated across more than a thousand square miles of South Florida.
Burmese pythons “can survive in and utilize a variety of habitats found in the region, and many of these areas are difficult to access and effectively survey,” the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
How many Burmese pythons are in Florida, Everglades?
It’s hard to get an exact count, given the Burmese python’s ability to live in various South Florida environments and the difficulty accessing some areas.
“Burmese pythons are hard to find due to their cryptic coloration and secretive behaviors, and their low detection probability is a major challenge to effective python control and research,” according to Florida Fish and Wildlife.
However, conservative estimates by the USGS put the Burmese python population in the Florida Everglades region in the tens of thousands.
Where, how far north in Florida are Burmese pythons found?
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife, Burmese pythons are established from just south of Lake Okeechobee to Key Largo and from western Broward County west to Collier County, including:
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Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge
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Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area
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Big Cypress National Preserve
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Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
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Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
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Picayune Strand State Forest
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Collier-Seminole State Park
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Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Any pythons found outside of those areas are likely escaped or released captive animals.
However, “due to the cryptic nature of pythons, it can take a while to gather enough evidence to confirm new areas of establishment,” FWC said.
How big do Burmese pythons get in Florida?
Burmese pythons are among the largest snakes in the world, with adult animals averaging between 10 and 16 feet long, according to the University of Florida.
A group of python hunters caught the longest Burmese python ever measured on July 10, 2023, in the Big Cypress National Preserve in eastern Collier County.
The massive snake was 19 feet long.
The heaviest Burmese python ever recorded was caught by Conservancy of Southwest Florida biologists in the Florida Everglades in 2022. The colossal female python weighed an eye-popping 215 pounds and was nearly 18 feet long.
Do Burmese pythons eat alligators in Florida?
Burmese pythons are known to make a meal of smaller alligators. A bicyclist filmed a Burmese python strangling an alligator in Big Cypress National Park.
A 5-foot alligator was found inside of an 18-foot Burmese python carcass during a necropsy.
Do alligators eat Burmese pythons?
They do!
For example, on Thanksgiving Day, a large alligator, nicknamed “Godzilla,” was caught on video hauling a massive Burmese python through the water in the Everglades.
In 2023, a Florida woman captured video of a 10-foot alligator in the Everglades eating a Burmese python.
In a 2023 USGS study, baby Burmese pythons were outfitted with radio transmitters. Five were eaten by alligators.
Bobcat vs. Burmese python in Florida
In June of 2021, a bobcat feasted on Burmese python eggs in the Big Cypress Preserve.
How did the Burmese python get to Florida?
Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia. Many of the invasive snakes came to the U.S. because of their popularity in the pet trade, according to the USGS.
The snakes were then intentionally or accidentally released in South Florida.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Burmese pythons in Florida: How many are there? Where? How far north?
