Pythons Killing Everglades Wildlife

[Will E Worm]

Pythons Killing Everglades Wildlife

A burgeoning population of huge pythons — many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big — appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says.

The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sightings of medium-size mammals are down dramatically — as much as 99 percent, in some cases — in areas where pythons and other large, non-native constrictor snakes are known to be lurking.
(See "Saving the World's Endangered Species.")

Scientists fear the pythons could disrupt the food chain and upset the Everglades' environmental balance in ways difficult to predict. "The effects of declining mammal populations on the overall Everglades ecosystem, which extends well beyond the national park boundaries, are likely profound," said John Willson, a research scientist at Virginia Tech University and co-author of the study.


Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the warm, humid climate. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and have been reproducing ever since.

Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds, and they have been known to swallow animals as large as alligators. They and other constrictor snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it.

The National Park Service has counted 1,825 Burmese pythons that have been caught in and around Everglades National Park since 2000. Among the largest so far was a 156-pound, 16.4-foot one captured earlier this month.

Article

 

[STDiva]

Why don't people hunt them? Or would that be too hard? I can't imagine they stand out as much as a giraffe.

 

[Will E Worm]

Why don't people hunt them? Or would that be too hard? I can't imagine they stand out as much as a giraffe.

People are hunting them. They need more hunters.

Hunters like big game. Giraffe hunting should be stopped.

 

[alexpnz]

http://natgeotv.com/uk/python-hunters

 

[Crazy4theBrat]

Burmese Pythons don't seem to be on an unstoppable killing spree in Burma? Why is it such a dire situation in Florida? Sounds like the tree huggers are trying to find something else cry about, now that nobody really worries about Algore's global warming theory any more.

 

[Shifty]

Time for a cull.

 

[Hondatard]

Drain the everglades and nalpam it.

 

[STDiva]

moar liek evergaydes. amirite?

 

[Will E Worm]

Burmese Pythons don't seem to be on an unstoppable killing spree in Burma? Why is it such a dire situation in Florida? Sounds like the tree huggers are trying to find something else cry about, now that nobody really worries about Algore's global warming theory any more.

They are not a natural animal to the area.

Giant pythons are well-adapted for success in Florida, where the habitat is similar to their Asian home. Although they are non-venomous, pythons are among the largest snakes in the world, reaching up to twenty-six feet long. Their size and power makes them one of the top predators in Florida’s Everglades National Park, taking on even the alligators, and posing a threat to many of the indigenous and endangered species.

Article

Wikipedia

 

[DR. B]

moar liek evergaydes. amirite?

 

[ThatRedWing]

I need some new boots... and a belt... and a wallet...

 

[Rane1071]

Yeah, I remember hearing about this a while back, these introduced pythons are pretty devastating. They're even taking out the alligators apparently.

 

[LukeEl]

Well I have the solution flush a few baby aligators down the toilet near the Everglades, let them grow to epic size on a steady diet of pythons.

 

[xfire]

Burmese Pythons don't seem to be on an unstoppable killing spree in Burma? Why is it such a dire situation in Florida? Sounds like the tree huggers are trying to find something else cry about, now that nobody really worries about Algore's global warming theory any more.

Do you have any education past high school? http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_invasive.html Hell, even a high school kid should understand non-native species can destroy an ecosystem. Of course, you want to politicize the problem for some reason instead of, at the very least, have your awareness raised. It's almost like you enjoy being uninformed.

:bang:

 

[Ulysses31]

Caught just in time: Mammoth python captured in Florida cut open to reveal 59 baby snakes poised to ravage the Everglades

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-poised-ravage-Everglades.html#ixzz1lEG3oT00


Slithering hell: A Burmese python cut open by a ranger in the Everglades National Park in Florida in 2009 revealed that she was pregnant and carrying 59 embryonic pythons

BURMESE PYTHONS

Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds.

Pythons are not venomous. Instead, they kill their prey by locking it in their jaws, which boast powerful, backward-facing teeth, then crushing it in their coils. They then swallow it whole.

Their success is due to their ability to gorge on huge meals - and then go without food for months.

After a big kill, the snake's insides remodel themselves to cope with such a feast. Their heart grows in size to produce more blood for digestion, extra stomach acid is produced and the intestines rearrange themselves.