The Burmese Python Snake Danger in Florida

Snakes in Florida are nothing usual. Snakes are found in backyard garden, by ponds and lakes. What is unusual is the types of snakes being found lately. According to the July 2009 Christian Science Monitor article, during a congressional hearing, Sen. Bill Nelson (D) of Florida unrolled the skin of a 17-foot Burmese python. His concern is it’s only a matter of time until one of the 150,000 suspected pythons in south Florida grabs a tourist. This is a bigger concern than the alligator in the New York City sewer myth. In July 2009 a 2 year old toddler was killed with the “pet python” in her crib as she slept.

Update: A Florida jury found Jaren Hare and Charles Jason Darnell guilty in the python strangling death of Hare's 2-year-old daughter, Shaianna, The Orlando Sentinel reported. The hungry, malnourished and underfed 8-foot, 6-inch albino Burmese python asphyxiated the toddler in her crib and tried to eat her, according to the deputy chief medical examiner. There were numerous bite marks on the child's head, face and arms. The snake, an invasive species that has killed alligators in the Everglades, repeatedly escaped its 200-gallon glass aquarium, which had only a safety-pinned quilt as a lid.

September 2009 -- Wildlife officials seized a 400-pound python from a Apopka, Florida home. The pet Burmese python name is Delilah. She was removed from her chain-link cage in her owner’s backyard, soon after she consumed seven rabbits for breakfast, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The snake measures about 18 feet long. Florida Fish and Wildlife investigator Rick Brown called the snake Goliath and monstrous according to the newspaper. The snake is approximately 16 years old according to the present caretaker.

There is a price to be paid to Mother Nature for taking animal out of their natural habitat – the ecosystem. The pythons threaten a native and endangered animal, the Key Largo wood rat. The Everglades is the dumping ground for unwanted Burmese pythons since the 90’s. The U.S. Parks Service states the snakes have moved as far north as Tallahassee, FL. Eight Burmese pythons have been found in the Florida Keys. Pythons can grow to more than 20 feet, and eat large animals’ whole, that puts dogs, cats and small children in danger. One python tried to swallow an alligator and ruptured. Two 5-foot-long alligators were found in the stomachs of Burmese pythons that were caught. The snakes have a life span of 35 years, and can weigh as much as 250 pounds. The larger the snake the bigger the quarry they eat. Birds, bobcats, deer and other animals have been found in their stomachs.

The Python Patrol program was started by Alison Higgins, the Nature Conservancy's Florida Keys conservation manager. Utility workers, wildlife officials and police officers recently attended a three-hour class about capturing the enormously large snakes. The snakes are breeding just north of the Keys in Everglades National Park. An estimated 30,000 Burmese pythons live in the park. The Everglades is a vast area with a climate perfect for these pythons to hide and breed. The largest clutches of eggs found in the Everglades have numbered up to 83. 

USGS Maps Show Potential Non-Native Python Habitat Along Three U.S. Coasts

Africa's largest snake, the rock python can be up to 20 feet long and six of the volatile creatures have been found in Florida since 2002. The predators are said to be more dangerous than the state's other serpent threat, the Burmese python. Mating of the two species would a disaster. There are fears the African rock pythons will cause as much damage as their Burmese counterparts. Burmese pythons are light-colored snakes with many brown blotches bordered in black down the back. The perceived attractiveness of their skin pattern contributes to their popularity with both reptile keepers and the leather industry. The color pattern of the African python is typically brown, with olive and tan irregular blotching, fading to white on the underside. At a glance they can be easily mistaken for the Burmese python, P. m. bivittatus .

According to the San Diego Zoo, the known predators for small, young pythons are a variety of birds, carnivorous mammals, large frogs, large insects and spiders, and even other snakes. Adult pythons are at risk from birds of prey like eagles and even lions and leopards. The biggest predators are humans.

Humans can capture, kill and/or trap pythons. They can also stop the import right from their homes. Stand up and fight lobbyist.

Support H.R.669 Title: To prevent the introduction and establishment of nonnative wildlife species that negatively impact the economy, environment, or other animal species' or human health, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 1/26/2009) Cosponsors (38)
Latest Major Action: 4/23/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

One day you're the predator, next day you're the prey.