Posted on 03/20/2015 8:16:22 AM PDT by C19fan
Everglades National Park, a world-renowned wetland in southern Florida, once abounded with rabbits, raccoons, muskrats, and other small mammals. But roughly 15 years ago, these species started to become scarce. About the same time, biologists noticed a boom in the population of a predator that had invaded the 64,238-hectare park: the Burmese python. Now, an experiment adds to the evidence that the pythons, which grow up to 5 meters long, are to blame for the collapse of the mammals' populations.
“There’s no question that this is an environmental disaster,” says J. D. Willson of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, who was not involved in the study.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sciencemag.org ...
That’s a bigun!
Didn’t know I needed the /s
Happy day for me, not the python.
The Air Force ran a research program in Guam with ‘aspirin’ mixed into dead mice. Snake ate the stuff and died. The issue from the experiment was that you needed to put the aspirin within a food source (dead mice) and litter the field. You could do the same thing in the everglades.
Snake is thinking.. “oh my a 7 course dinner.”
Keep feeding them bunnies with homing devices in them and problem solved.
They aren’t eating Peter Cottontail, swamp rabbits have a different lifestyle.
Is a snake going to eat a dead critter? And the chances of it coming across a fairly fresh dead wabbit, would be slim, wouldn’t it?
But hey, what do I know about pythons.
I have swamp rabbits living in my back yard. What is their “different lifestyle”?
“Meanwhile, nutria are an invasive species in the Bayou. I see a 2-state solution here...”
Whats your best idea, bring the nutria down or take the phython up, which ever you think is the best idea.
Would the “aspirin” trick work with Copperheads?
Export hickory-smoked snake in roasted jalapeño sauce and make boots of the skin.
They are semi-aquatic, swim like beavers.
At certain times of the year I went across Alligator Alley and when you got closer to Andytown you had to be extra careful not to slide off the road into the canal, that’s how many dead (and alive ) rabbits were squashed on and crossing the roadway. it was unbelievable. I’m going back about 25 to 30 years ago, things may have changed by now.
There’s another ‘invader’ causing havoc in S. Fla and the rest of the Caribbean.
The Lionfish.
Undoubtedly turned loose by marine aquarium fanciers. They are a Pacific fish, no known enemies, voracious appetites. Poison spines prevent predators.
They are eating all the small fish in an area.
Just another foreign species to add to the list.
Parrots, iguanas, Cuban lizard, bufo toads, water hyacinths, Melaleuca trees(think they’ve about killed them off) .
And insects...
I heard about the lionfish. I never ate one but I heard it is a very tasty fish.
I was keeping some of the best ideas for myself.
I’m going to open a python only restaurant that has as it’s left wing “themed” wait staff black, muslim, lesbian, vegans that will accuse you of hating all of the above when you order.
Everyone will eat in the complete dark out of a bowl on the floor while nude so they get the complete food experience.
I’ll make a fortune before the idiots figure out they are idiots.
I’ll bet the birds are the biggest losers of all.
Gay rabbits? That would explain them dieing off.
About 10 years ago on a road trip to Montana we saw the same thing. It was a stretch of high desert through Wyoming and there was a dead Jack Rabbit ever 10 or 15 feet. Sad!
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