Could vultures help fight invasive pythons? Study documents rare attack
Researchers say vultures feeding on Burmese python eggs in the Everglades marks the first documented case of native birds preying on a python nest in Florida.
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Researchers say vultures feeding on Burmese python eggs in the Everglades marks the first documented case of native birds preying on a python nest in Florida.
Burmese pythons pose a huge threat to native species in the Florida Everglades. Officials have used creative methods to manage the population of invasive snakes.
Ronald Kiger, who caught 20 Burmese pythons, won $10,000. Donna Kalil got a $2,500 prize for catching 19 snakes.
Predators are becoming prey in the Florida Everglades as hundreds of hunters descend on the Sunshine State in an effort to catch and kill as many Burmese pythons as possible. The invasive species has wreaked havoc on the Everglades' ecosystem. While it can feel like a losing battle, biologists say they aren't giving up on the fight just yet.
A recent study found that climate change could make the entire continental United States hospitable to Burmese pythons by 2050.
Florida's annual Python Challenge in the Everglades will run August 9-18.
Calvin Bautista, 38, has been sentenced for trying to smuggle three Burmese pythons into the U.S.
Here's what to know about the Florida Python Challenge.
Watch this Florida man wrestle a record-breaking 19-foot-long Burmese python: "Giant is an understatement."
The python that was captured is nearly three times longer than the average invasive python caught in the state.
"No, Siri, we don't want to proceed to the route."
Matthew Concepcion was among the 1,000 participants from 32 states, Canada and Latvia who participated in the annual challenge.
Two nests with dozens of hatched and unhatched eggs were found, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The female python weighed in at 215 pounds, was nearly 18 feet long, and had 122 developing eggs, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida said.
The snakes have virtually no natural enemies in the Everglades and have decimated native populations of mammals, birds and other reptiles.
The video marks the first evidence of any animal in the Everglades fighting back against a Burmese python, experts said.