{"id":45304,"date":"2025-02-13t19:48:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-13t19:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=45304"},"modified":"2025-02-13t19:48:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13t19:48:15","slug":"fighting-against-floridas-python","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/fighting-against-floridas-python\/","title":{"rendered":"fighting against florida\u2019s most invasive reptile: the burmese python"},"content":{"rendered":"
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tangled in the thick brush of florida\u2019s most well-known national park, the everglades, slithers a foreign creature that has been disrupting the ecosystem in various ways for decades \u2014 the burmese python. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

as burmese pythons are the greatest ecological threat to the south florida region, the state of florida has listed them as a <\/span>prohibited reptile<\/span><\/a><\/span> and created incentives to hunt them, hoping locals will traverse their own backyard for the foreign reptiles. from the lack of natural predators for the eco-imbalancing constrictors a new profession was born; a python bounty hunter, more formally known as a python elimination specialist. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

donna kalil, a veteran python hunter, has caught 1,026 burmese pythons since she began hunting 11 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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hunter donna kalil holds a burmese python she caught by the neck. pythons are not venomous, but are instead constrictors. (courtesy of donna kalil)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

kalil<\/span> entered the florida python challenge for the first time in 2013, which is a 10-day competition that challenges participants to remove as many pythons as possible. she\u2019s participated every year since, and captured 19 snakes in 2024, receiving the <\/span>most pythons prize<\/span><\/a> for professional python hunters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

for context, burmese pythons are in the top 10 largest snakes in the world. they\u2019re native to south asia, which means they have no natural predators in north america and have only grown in population and size since their arrival.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

this allows them to eat whatever they can. when a snake gets larger \u201cit\u2019s just us and alligators that can take care of it,\u201d<\/span> kalil<\/span> said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the conservancy of south florida (csf) published <\/span>a study<\/span><\/a> in october 2024 focusing on floridian pythons and their capacity for food, which developed researchers\u2019 understanding of the amount a burmese python can digest.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

dr. bruce jayne, an author of the study and professor of biological sciences at the university of cincinnati said, \u201cto me, for a long time, what has not been obvious is that clearly, big pythons can eat very big prey. but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re eating as big prey as they possibly could.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the first burmese python was documented in florida in 1979, according to the <\/span>national park service<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

there is debate that hurricane andrew, in august 1992, is the reason why burmese pythons are so rampant and established their population in the everglades. during the category 5 storm, a breeding facility was destroyed, releasing countless snakes into the nearby swamps, according to a publication by <\/span>alpha kappa delta<\/span><\/a>, the international sociology honor society.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

however, the pet trade also heightened in america around the time the first burmese python was found in 1979, according to the <\/span>world animal protection<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

nowadays, python hunters are often called for rapid response, such as removing a snake from someone\u2019s yard or when spotted on the side of the road. these removal agents typically locate pythons based on trends they have seen from previous years.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

once spotted, \u201cyou have to approach it from behind, quietly, slowly, try not to make it feel threatened, which is key,\u201d kalil<\/span> said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

kalil<\/span> is often within half a foot of a python when she lunges to catch the snakes. first they grab them underneath the head, \u201cthen you fight them until they don’t have any fight left within them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

once the pythons settle down, hunters collect data about the snake such as its length, weight, where it was captured, and when. kalil<\/span> has now captured around 900 pythons for the program alone.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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donna kalil is a python elimination specialist, who says you have to “fight them until they don’t have any fight left within them.\u201d (courtesy of donna kalil)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

then, kalil<\/span> brings the burmese python to her home while it\u2019s still alive, which requires specific permits for live transport. she places them in a cooler overnight to put them into a deep sleep, or <\/span>brumation<\/span><\/a>. the next day she ethically euthanizes them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cwhen you’re one on one with a monster, that’s a whole different story than getting a shotgun and shooting it from 10 ft away,\u201d kalil<\/span> said. \u201ca lot of people don’t understand that part until they sign up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

fwc\u2019s ethical guidelines<\/span><\/a> for killing methods of invasive reptiles include the animal first losing consciousness immediately, \u201cthen destroying the animal’s brain by \u2018pithing\u2019 which prevents the animal from regaining consciousness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

once kalil<\/span> euthanizes the python, she discards the corpse, tans and sells the snakeskin, or in rare cases prepares it as food, despite its high mercury concentration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201ci take my chances and maybe chop it up and put it on a pizza or something and serve it to guests, because they always kind of get a kick out of that,\u201d she said. \u201cbut it’s not on my menu.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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once the pythons are captured, python hunters like kalil<\/span> collect the data, bring them home while still alive, and ethically euthanize them.\u00a0(courtesy of donna kalil)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

with ever-evolving personal goals, including catching 1,000 pythons, kalil<\/span> caught her heaviest snake to date on dec. 9, 2024. it weighed more than her at 135 pounds, and was 14 feet long.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the longest python found in florida was in july 2023 at 19 feet, according to kim luciani for the <\/span>naples daily news<\/span><\/a>, and the heaviest python discovered in florida was 215 pounds in december 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

burmese pythons have already negatively affected mammal populations across southern florida despite only dwelling in the everglades for less than 50 years. between 1997-2012, the everglades\u2019 raccoon population declined by 99.3%, opossums by 98.9%, and bobcats by 87.5% according to the <\/span>united states geological survey<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cevery single snake is different, and every single snake can get away from you until you’ve got it in the pack, and that’s where my adrenaline shows up,\u201d kalil<\/span> said. \u201ci know for certain every time i remove a python, no matter what size it is, it’s making a positive difference to the environment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

there is no estimate of how many burmese pythons are roaming the everglades. \u201cit could be tens of thousands, or it could be hundreds of thousands,\u201d said rory feeney, the bureau chief of land resources at the south florida water management district. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

biologist ian easterling with csf<\/span> said, \u201cthere are a lot of people that are trying to collect information on pythons. it’s just a matter of getting the entire community in south florida onboard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ultimately, removing burmese pythons from south florida is going to be a long-winded effort between the community, hunters, biologists, and the state of florida. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cit\u2019s up to us, we caused the problem and we have to try to fix it,\u201d kalil<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

from florida’s greatest ecological threat came a new profession; a python elimination specialist, otherwise known as a python bounty hunter. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31664,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4905,4929,4899,7087,7173],"tags":[],"storyfest_categories":[7169],"class_list":["post-45304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adaptation","category-biodiversity","category-policy","category-storyfest","category-storyfest-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nfighting against florida\u2019s most invasive reptile: the burmese python - planet forward<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"from florida's greatest ecological threat came a new profession; a python elimination specialist, otherwise known as a python bounty hunter.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/fighting-against-floridas-python\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"fighting against florida\u2019s most invasive reptile: the burmese python - planet forward\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"from florida's greatest ecological threat came a new profession; 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