This one is a little bigger than 18 inches.
Posted on 02/03/2015 4:02:09 PM PST by george76
Florida wildlife officials, opening a new front in the war on invasive snakes, are recruiting the general public for "python patrols" that teach them how to identify and even capture some of the hissing, snapping reptiles.
"We consider (Burmese pythons) established, which means the hope of removing them is pretty slim," said Jenny Novak, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist, during a recent training session with 20 volunteers in south Florida. "We're in management mode now."
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Florida is a hub for the exotic pet trade and a hot bed of invasive species that have snuck into the tropical environment. An estimated 150,000 Burmese pythons now occupy the state’s southern half, according to officials.
Since the snakes were first spotted in the 1970s, they have become top predators in the ecologically fragile Everglades, gobbling up whole alligators and other native species, and growing more than 18 feet (5-1/2 meters) long.
The latest concern is a small population of aggressive North African "rock" pythons several miles west of downtown Miami. Since they were first discovered in 2001, 69 have been spotted and 29 have been captured
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Like George Zimmerman?
It would be hard to think of something more awesome than hunting pythons for the good of the community.
Open season, and a bounty.
if you want some more snakes, i know a place that won’t miss them
Why don’t they capture them and turn them loose where there are populations of “homeless”?
D.C. ???
Some are 18” long.
I would die on the spot if I ever saw one.
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Teach these rubes how to I.D. the pythons...and then how to dispatch them. Period.
A foot and half? Oh...wow!!!
Horrible problem. These are gorgeous snakes, I hate the idea of killing them. I also hate the idea of having them gobble up every other species in the Glades.
No good solutions.
I would very much like to see laws with huge teeth ban import of wild animals. They are God’s creatures, NOT “things” to sell.
“A foot and half? Oh...wow!!!”
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Ooops !!!!!
:-)
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Yep, FL should pay a bounty and encourage businesses to start making products using the skins that hunters could sell to them.
Eat ‘em.
This one is a little bigger than 18 inches.
CORRECTION: They can be 18 feet long. Feet, not inches!
“CORRECTION: They can be 18 feet long. Feet, not inches! “
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I was already corrected on that in an earlier post.
Stupid mistakes like that keep me humble.
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Looks like the lady on our right really likes snakes :)
I’ll help them out, as long as I can bring my Ruger Vaqueros.
My first thought as well. I’ll bet that $100/snake will develop some excellent snake hunters & trappers.
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