Posted on 07/17/2009 6:08:47 AM PDT by dennisw
The python posse is turning into a brigade.
The federal government on Thursday said it would open up Big Cypress National Wildlife Refuge, which borders Everglades National Park, to a pilot program allowing licensed hunters to ''terminate'' any python they encounter.
It's part of a broad program to control the invasive snakes, laid out Thursday by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The announcement comes days after Florida Sen. Bill Nelson called for a controlled hunt in Everglades National Park and state wildlife managers announced they would permit expert trappers to kill snakes on state marshland.
The program includes many things park scientists have been doing for years to battle the Burmese import: outreach and hot lines for the public; studies of python movements, habits and threats to the ecosystem; and programs to design python traps and sexual scents that might be used to bait them.
But Salazar, who pledged to tackle the snake problem during his first visit to the Everglades in May, also vowed to seek more funding to expand efforts.
For instance, federal scientists are working with the University of Florida to develop drone aircraft with thermal imaging to pinpoint the difficult-to-detect snakes.
The park also might add to the dozen agents who have removed hundreds of pythons during the past few years, and will consider whether to expand the state's expert posse program into Everglades National Park.
One hurdle is a park prohibition against hunting. But the pilot program will open federal land in the Big Cypress, where seasonal hunting and guns are allowed. Because no laws protect python, there is technically nothing to prohibit properly licensed hunters from shooting them now, but the program would formalize the effort and data collection.
''We are committed to aggressively combating this threat, including having trained and well-supervised volunteers hunt down and remove snakes,'' Salazar said in a release.
Eradicating python will be difficult. Scientists say less than 5 percent of the estimated 100,000-plus snakes in the park are ever seen. Hunting alone likely won't do it. ''There is no one silver bullet,'' said Paul Souza, field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Anybody know if python is good to eat?”
You betcha!...bet Sarah Palin can cook ‘em up real good.
I see opportunities for a leather business.
Maybe. But you might be surprised what a few minutes in a pressure cooker will do for a tough piece of meat.
I don't care what they do, as long as they don't frighten the alligators. At any rate, any fruitcake activity should be easy to monitor with the thermal imaging drones. Unlike your average Burmese Python, the activities are reputed to cause some heat.
I need to study this. Send stimulus money.
Secure the Federal Funds first, then explain to the Feds that they are cold blooded.
That way you can procure and keep a bunch of FLIRs for your own use. And maybe the school's own drone for football games.
“I suppose only steel shot will be allowed...”
...good one Eric! ;-)
Anyway, like I was sayin’, python is the fruit of the swamp. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, python-kabobs, python creole, python gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple python, lemon python, coconut python, pepper python, python soup, python stew, python salad, python and potatoes, python burger, python sandwich. That- that’s about it.
I was wandering around in there yesterday. Stumbling across alligators scared the be-jeezus out of me. The small black snakes sunning themselves on the road startled me. The bobcat crossing the road amazed me. I cannot imagine walking across one of these big snakes.
I am going back to the North, where you just have to worry about black bears and liberals.
“Hunting alone likely won’t do it”
...oh yes it will! ....put a financial reward on the snakes and hunters will wipe them out....I’ve seen market forces almost eradicate alligators in my lifetime...only to see them bounce back when protected....if the money is right, guys will hunt pythons to extinction.
Gold star for the day !
Nuke ‘em from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Thanks. Actually I wouldn’t mind having a few pounds of python to play with. I could probably make something good out of it.
“...federal scientists are working with the University of Florida to develop drone aircraft with thermal imaging to pinpoint the difficult-to-detect snakes.”
How does thermal imaging work with an exothermic organism? The only time you could “see” them is when they’ve just moved from one environment to another and have not yet warmed or cooled to the temperature of the new environment. Even with a large bodied animal (which will change temperature more slowly), that’s got to be a pretty small window. Inquiring minds...
According to the article, you could have already been killing snakes, they’re not regulated like other species there. This just formalized it so they can get numbers killed and such. I don’t really understand why they’re throwing money at the issue when all they really need is for the person who killed the snake to let them know by a phone call or dropping it at their doorstep for further study.
Just tell the Cajuns they are against the law to hunt and good to eat. They be good and gone cher !!
“Trying to spot a cold blooded critter with thermal imagery, particularly when they are under the vegetation is probably beyond the ability of ParcMan.”
Not to mention the pockmarked limestone Karst topography with about a zillion holes per square mile.
***For instance, federal scientists are working with the University of Florida to develop drone aircraft with thermal imaging to pinpoint the difficult-to-detect snakes. ****
But aren’t snakes cold blooded? How will this work?
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