Posted on 09/14/2009 11:51:51 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Already squeezed by the invasion of the giant Burmese python, Florida now faces what one scientist calls one of the U.S. state's "worst nightmares."
Africa's largest snake—the ill-tempered, 20-foot-long (6.1-meter-long) African rock python—is colonizing the U.S. state, new discoveries suggest.
Six African rock pythons have been found in Florida since 2002. More troubling, a pregnant female and two hatchlings have been found, which means the aggressive reptiles have set up house.
More dangerous than even Burmese pythons—which are known to eat alligators (alligator-python picture)—the African pythons are "so mean, they come out of the egg striking," said Kenneth Krysko, senior herpetologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.
"This is just one vicious animal."
So far the giant snakes have been found only in a single square mile (2.6 square kilometers) of suburban area west of Miami. Pet breeders unprepared for the pythons' ferocity may have released them, Krysko said.
What's "really scary" is that the new invaders only have to cross the road to enter Everglades National Park, where Burmese pythons have already eaten thousands of native animals, he said.
With the addition of the rock python, Florida is now an established home-away-from-home for three large alien constrictors—including the Burmese species and the boa constrictor—according to wildlife biologist Robert Reed, who studies invasive reptiles for the U.S. Geological Survey in Fort Collins, Colorado....
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
Tastes like chikin.
fotflol
The Dems and the Rinos in Congress protect invading, deadly snakes. It is a rule from hell that they will not break, no matter how many suffer and die.
“undocumented reptiles?” Yes and the Feds won’t do anything to stop them. They don’t care how many Americans die.
I am not good at cutting and pasting things. But just google “giant python Indonesia” and you will see videotape of it in its enclosure.
Hogwash. There isn’t a snake over 30ft in captivity, anywhere.
If there was, they would get a reward of $50k, that was put out at the turn of the century. Anything over 20ft is huge.
Approaching 30ft is close to myth. I know there out there, they just have not been captured.
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