Posted on 01/16/2016 9:49:57 AM PST by george76
Burmese python invasive to Everglades. The Burmese python, one of the largest snakes in the world, is running amok in Florida.
Well, more like slithering amok.
So much so that on Saturday, state officials kick off a month-long competition designed to remove as many of the colossal constrictors from the Everglades as possible.
More than 600 people have signed up for the Python Challenge, according to Carli Segelson, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which organized the event.
A cash prize goes to the hunter who captures -- dead or alive -- the most Burmese pythons, as well as one for the longest one.
Why? Because the Burmese python, which can be as large as 23 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds, doesn't belong in the Everglades, in Florida -- or even in this hemisphere for that matter.
...
Even though it seems like such a large snake would be easy to find or see, only a very small fraction of pythons present in the park are ever detected
...
Just how hard are they to find? In the inaugural Python Challenge in 2013, 1,600 hunters could only produce 68 of them. In fact, the Burmese python is so hard to detect, Segelson said there are no reliable estimates as to how many of them there actually are in Florida -- but they've been a long-simmering problem for the state.
...
the invasive species is responsible for causing the near "complete disappearance of raccoons, rabbits and opossums
(Excerpt) Read more at wyff4.com ...
It’s amazing how many stories are on Google about snakes attacking their owners—especially when you have to assume that some of the owners (pet stores)are licensed to have these animals. Wild animals are no joke and individuals interest in keeping them at home ARE a joke.
My favorite is about the 8’ KING COBRA that escaped from his owner’s premises in Orlando, Fla last Sept 3. into a wooded area that is near an elementary school. The owner was quoted. “It’s horrible that this has happened,” he said. “It has been incredibly traumatic for me and my family.”
All I know is that even experienced and licensed handlers can sometimes goof up and the possible consequences for the public would be unredeemable if the worst happened. I know if the snake bit and killed my child he wouldn’t have experienced the worst traumatic experience of his life yet.
Just my opinion, but the ‘hots’ as you call them should only be owned by laboratories and zoos.
Reptile owners are equivalent to pedophiles.
Got it.
Personal experience, reptiles would be rather low on my beware of list.
Livestock and canids, much higher up.
It’s an issue of aggressive versus defensive.
A sane bit of perspective, if you’re so inclined.
https://historylist.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/human-deaths-in-the-us-caused-by-animals/
Sent from the Twilight Zone
Wildbill, you did not fail to amuse in your post.
An exceedingly valid case can be made that a venomous animal (mamba) and a 4-500 pound carnivore (tiger) are ‘dangerous’; but then you invalidate you case by including non-dangerous animals that you just happen to dislike. Talk about a strange pathology. Comical argument really.
So, I figured you would take the argument to the Constitution. Allow me to re-argue my point.
It is WRONG to take punitive action towards responsible persons for the irresponsible actions of others. And your proposal IS punitive.
And, no, I do not sell or trade these animals, for pleasure or profit.
Your position is based solely on a dislike founded in ignorance. Pure, unadulterated ignorance.
Since you brought up the Constitution, perhaps we could discuss that. It was 2ritten to defend freedom, to allow our pursuit of happiness. Of course, to eliminate your specious example of child molesters, that pursuit should be bound up morally.
So, tell me wildbill, how many people die yearly from theseveral ‘dangerous’ boas and pythons?
I would that more (Many More) die from dog bites. Where is your call for punitive registration, licensing and insurance?
How many die each year from spooked livestock (cattle, horses)? Many more than from my Anaconda.
My point here is, I AGREE that there is a problem with invasive species. Further, that the irresponsible persons causing that should be beaten with sticks, repeatedly and publicly.
So, your problem is not with me or Salamander, except that we keep those ‘icky’ animals too.
And, in keeping them, no one in my home is in danger and certainly no one outside my home is either. So, my keeping of snakes, be they small or large, is a non-public-issue. And yes, there need to be laws to protect the public, and there ARE! Animal owners are required to control their animals, such that others are not harmed. And should harm occur, they are liable. See?
But, no, just like lefties, living in their fear bubble, you cry out for MORE LAW!! “Those snakes are Scary! And I icky and probably have ooze smells! Save me by taxing and licensing.”
So, why don’t you focus on real wrongs, immoral wrongs, such as child molesters, and leave those of us Doing No Wrong in peace. Think of it as Domestic Tranquility.
So much BS in that article it’s not even funny. Sigh
No, a python isn’t a stomach with a mouth. Burms and retics are very intelligent and contrary to the myth being pushed, they only eat once or twice a month.
the reason they are in Florida is because of Hurricane Andrew destroying an importation and breeding facility.
You do realize that is a photo shopped image right?
Humans killed by pet reptiles in the US per year... 0.43
Humans killed by pet dogs in the US per year... 30-70 depending on the year.
I find it’s the uneducated scum bag low life types that try to demonize something they don’t understand for the most part. Most of those people have never even seen a Burmese or Reticulated python in person... not to mention have ever held one or worked with one.
Educate yourself before you discuss a topic you really don’t know anything about.
You do realize that dogs and cats are invasive species... So, when do we start hunting down the cats that irresponsible owners let loose to roam the neighborhoods and kill wildlife every single day?
Well said. Just because someone doesn’t like what you have doesn’t give them the Right to take it away from you. I keep quite a large number of snakes of varying species ranging from garter snakes to reticulated pythons.
I have found that most people that want to ban snakes know absolutely nothing about them. They make quite a few assumptions and base it all on myths that have no basis in reality.
What really annoys me is how these so called FWS wildlife experts make these claims about the Burmese pythons and frankly, they’ve never worked with them, never interacted with them and have no idea what their needs are, their husbandry, their diet, etc. Anyone that knows snakes at all will tell you, it is impossible for the Burmese pythons to be causing the die off that is happening in the Everglades. You would need 50 full grown adults per acre to accomplish that and it’s simply not happening.
I wish uneducated, ignorant people would research the topic by talking to the people that actually know these animals instead of the retards that have zero experience with them who claim to be experts.
Why don't we try to keep it civil, shall we?
I will assume, to be civil, that you aren't calling me an "uneducated scum bag low life type" (because, you certainly would not be so much of a wimp to not come right out and directly say what you mean, right?)
I would hope you would do that in the same spirit as my viewpoint that there exists a not insignificant population of reptile owners (though, as I was careful to point out in my posts, not all reptile owners) who are the kind of "uneducated scum bag low life types" who own reptiles or pit bulls as a symbol, and think nothing of letting their pit bull run wild, or leaving their reptile alone in a cage with a blanket over it with an infant next to it an a crib.
You obviously are someone who owns a reptile and took exception to the factual statement that there are a significant amount of people who own them who shouldn't. I will assume you are one of the educated, knowledgeable and skilled people who own reptiles.
Let's put aside the statement of knowing about things, and I will accept that you know more about reptiles than I do, and, given your use of the statistics you supplied, I know more about statistics than you do. We can do that without an acrimonious exchange, right?
Just for the sake of argument, how many human to reptile encounters are there each year in the USA as opposed to human to dog encounters in the same time frame?
According to an annual survey by The American Veterinary Medical Association statistics, in 2012, there were about 70 million dogs as pets in this country. Can we assume each one of those dogs interacts with anywhere from two to four people at a minimum every day? Lets say that an "encounter" means waking up to the animal and coming home to it, just to be on the low side. To be fair, lets count people passing a dog and petting it, or friends coming over to your house and hugging the dog. Lets call it five encounters a day, two by each owner, and maybe one with a friend or stranger while walking the dog.
Lets call that 350 million human to dog encounters a year in the USA alone, and most of those are intimate encounters (extended petting, hugging, etc) and many are by non family members, even complete strangers, though this is likely understating it.
This same organization gives statistics on reptile ownership in 2012 as well, and even though it breaks them down into snakes, turtles, lizards, and such so we will lump all reptiles in together since your 0.43 statistic does not specify, which would give about 5 million reptiles owned in the USA. I will assume that fewer people have an encounter with the reptile in that same family group where the reptile is taken out and handled, maybe three times a day. Let's say four to be generous. And only rarely is the reptile having intimate encounters (hugging, extended petting, etc) with complete strangers.
Let's call that 20 million human to reptile encounters a year, which is likely overstating it.
If you were to normalize the populations of dog/human encounters that result in fatality to the reptile/human encounters that result in fatality given that there are far more humans who interact with dogs, as opposed to humans who interact with reptiles, that will change your 0.43 statistic quite dramatically upwards, and that is completely leaving out the concept of the nature and type of the interactions.
Actually, cats and dogs and all sorts of animals are hunted down and often killed by the Animal Control Depts. of most communities.
I was replying to your generalization of reptile owners... kinda sucks to be on the receiving end of that kind of false stereotype doesn’t it? Maybe you’ll refrain from it in the future now that you see how baseless and unfounded it is.
Except that it’s socially acceptable to let cats run wild with no consideration that the common house cat is the most destructive non native pet in the US by far.
People worry about the Burmese python for no good reason. All the conjecture and fear mongering is based on inaccurate and out right false information. Burmese pythons are not aggressive, they’re shy and reclusive animals. They don’t “eat anything they can get in their mouths” nor are they mindless killing machines.
Do Burms make good pets? Yep, IF you are prepared for how big they get. And no, they don’t get 25 feet and 200 pounds. Most rarely top 150 pounds. If you’re not prepared nor have experience around the bigger species of snakes, a Burm probably isn’t for you.
What we’ve seen with bans and restrictive laws regarding these animals is that the hobby has begun to move underground. The animals suffer for it as they cannot be legally cared for by a vet if they get sick or injured. Irresponsible pet owners who let their animals go should be punished severely. But to blame all snake owners and call for bans is no different than what the anti gun freaks do with firearms.
I don’t own any Burmese pythons, however, I have worked with quite a few of them. My personal preference is the longer reticulated python. I have found that retics are more intelligent and more regal. They associate with people in ways most animals cannot do.
All the crap spewed by that article on the Burmese is absolutely fictional. The author did not do his or her research at all. It’s a fear mongering propaganda piece that has no basis in reality.
I work with the “gentle giants” of the snake world every day. I see what they are and how they act and what their needs are every single day. People have little to fear from these animals... on the other hand, these snakes have every right to fear and hate humans... but they don’t.
Let me put it to you this way. If these animals were as dangerous as is being claimed, why are they letting people that have zero experience working with snakes at all go into a wild habitat and hunt them? Maybe because the Burms aren’t what the Government and the media want you to believe they are.
It disgusts me how people throw their opinion around like it’s fact when they’ve never even seen one in person or worked with one or held one... Then have the nerve to tell people like me who work with them every day that we don’t know what we’re talking about.
To top that off, most people couldn’t tell the difference between a Burmese python and most other species of snake in the wild if their life depended on it.
Already, the python hunt has resulted in two very endangered Indigo snakes being killed. Why? Because this whole mess has gotten out of hand with the fear mongering. I hope the people that killed the Indigo snakes are prosecuted. I doubt that it will happen though.
If you read thoroughly, you will see that I made a specific exception to the generalization.
I stand by my comment about the sub-population of yahoos who own reptiles.
But of course, you aren’t one of them, are you?
And I stand by my comment as well. Here’s why. Most of the people that own exotic pets in general tend to be professional types vs. the generalization you made. Yes there are a few in every group but to say most is quite ignorant... like most of the comments in this thread.
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