Hundreds of hunters gather in the Glades to kill pythons

Supposedly there are est. 100,000 pythons in the Everglades now, and this event gets like 200. Seems almost pointless. It says the prize is $2500. Maybe we need to up the ante on this stuff, put more of a bounty on them 100% of the time? Bring in more professional snake hunters?

I assume the state wildlife people do more overall throughout the year, but if there are none of these mammals coming back that tells me the pythons are winning the war. The question is when these snakes run out of the food they’ve been thriving on up to this point, where do they turn?

 

Several years ago a professor friend at UF released 20 collared rabbits in ENP and every single one of them ended up in python bellies.
Last year’s hunt killed about 200 per the article. Fun for the participants I suppose but won’t reduce the population in any measurable way.
However FWC has paid by the snake contractors that do get after it and they are even allowed to hunt in ENP and use guns - against the rules in just about every national park
They will never be eradicated from the great habitat in S FL. But maybe the rate of increase can be dampened.

 

Florida reaps what it sows when it allows the exotic pet trade.

 

The likely solution to the python problem would be some form of biological control. Not a biologist but it seems that the real problem would be developing or discovering a bacteria, virus or parasite that attacks and kills the pythons without endangering native reptiles.

 

One of our resident QANON suggests injecting a few with the Covid vaccine and releasing them back into the wild. That ought to wipe them out.

 

This was my thought. An infertility solution perhaps.

Release poisonous rabbits.

 

Poisonous rabbits? Yeah, that's the ticket. Thinking outside the box thinking right there.
I have read of them using "judas" snakes to find other pythons. A python is caught and transmitter implanted and the snake is then released. During winter breeding period it is located with others of its kind including breeding females. Capture, surgery for the transmitter, and aerial telemetry is expensive though.
‘Judas’ snakes lead scientists on a high-tech Easter egg hunt for pythons

 

All species are invasive. Reptiles just get a bad rap because they're not cuddly. Some studies have shown that cats do more harm to the environment than any other animal.

 

I'm for killing cats......but I'm allergic.

 

That was my first thought too!

 

Just order more Chinese food

 

Hopefully it’s no longer legal to sell the snakes in Florida.

 

Yes, the wildlife commission has put a lot of small business owners out of business in Florida because of the irresponsibility of their customers.

 

Or.... a deadly bat virus that cannot jump to infect humans? Yeah, what could possibly go wrong...

 

I was going to look for the killer rabbit scene. Beat me to it!

 

Let’s ship all the cats down to the Everglades!

 

Feral cats are nasty killing machine. Song birds, rabbits, squirrels,… I’ve seen a little of feral kittens take down a raccoon. Sickening.
Spay or neuter your damn cats and keep them in your house. Can’t stand people letting their pets roam all over. If you have a lot of property or a big farm that may be different.. but not in neighborhoods and urban settings.
Sorry.. pet peeve.

 

Literally!