Florida's Python Challenges Essay

A group of researchers collected data to support the theory that the overpopulation of snakes is killing off the mammal population. Ashley Townsend, National Geographic writes, “the python population has continued to grow at a remarkable rate and has caused great distress to the park 's ecosystem.” For this study, the researchers at the South Florida Water Management District recorded the rates of live and dead mammals during a nocturnal road survey and compared it to the 1996-1997 road surveys. Scientists for the South Florida Management District, stated, “Researchers noted that the animals in the park were dying at a greater rate since the python population has gotten so enormous.”

Clearly,the Burmese pythons are drawing hunters to the everglades. According to Andrew Ng in his 2013 article,”To address the problem,the state's Fish and Wildlife commission is sponsoring its first ever Python Challenge.” This means that people from all across the country will be coming to participate. This is a big deal because the hunters in this challenge are now fully allowed to kill these pythons and would save some of the animals that they're killing and bring in some tourist. Andrew Ng goes on to say,”prizes will be awarded in two divisions:one for novices and

Andrew Ng, author of, “Florida’s Python Hunt”, quoted this from the article, “This means that for 30 days, hundreds of people armed with shotguns, rifles, machetes, handguns, and hooked spears- many who have never seen a Burmese python- will roam the Florida Everglades in search of the coveted snakes.” There is going to be people that have never ever seen a Burmese python before, so they could accidentally shoot people that may look a little bit like a snake, and they could shoot small animals and other snakes that have nothing to do with the Burmese pythons.

Hunting is a common activity all around the world, and if performed properly, can have many benefits to us and the rest of the planet. The art of hunting has been around since the beginning of time. Living off of the land used to be a necessity across the world, until the mass production of food came along. In America, people do not usually need to hunt to survive. However, the population of animal species needs to be controlled. Too many of one type of animal can cause a drastic change to any ecosystem. Food supplies decline quickly, leaving many animals without food. Hunting can help keep the population of a group of animals at a good number, making the lives of the other

The prizes included of $1,500 for the winner of most Burmese Pythons caught and $1,000 for the person who finds the longest one, however, the prizes will be divided in two: one for the experienced, licensed Burmese Pythons and another for amateurs. Michael Sarill, Director of EcoWild Conservation from University of California, Berkeley, says that out of 30,000 Burmese Pythons only 68 were actually killed, thus meaning that the 30 day hunting only helped clear .2% of the invasive Burmese population. Another hunt was done one year after, in 2013, with better results. The hunting lasted for 30 days such as the one the year prior, with hundreds of people attended equipped with rifles, shotguns, machetes, handguns, and some with even hooked spears, as stated by Andrew Ng in his article, Florida’s python hunt. In all, the challenge helped capture 108 Burmese Pythons, but it didn’t merely prove any effect to the population or tens of thousands pythons that were still roaming in the

Clearly the burmese pythons are drawing hunters to the everglades.according to andrew nick 2013 article they are sponsoring a challeng. This means that millions will get hurt or injured,and adding this giant challenge. This means that there will be a lot of hunters in the everglades

Sometimes the hunters even like to stuff the animals they killed so they can mount them in their house to show off. These hunters hunt all sorts of animals, not just one that you can usually find in the US. In other countries, it's more often than in the US to find poachers. These are hunters that kill endangered animals for the bragging rights and for the thrill of the kill.

Burmese pythons are an invading species that are causing problems to the local animal population, the local ecosystems, and the people in the area of Florida’s Everglades. These snakes are one of the biggest snakes in the world and grow up to be twenty three feet long and weigh up to two hundred pounds. They are able to hunt in the dark due to the chemical receptors on their tongues and heat sensors all over their jaw. This is bad for humans, as we cannot see very well in the dark. This can cause the snake to see us, but us not be able to see them. Without natural predators, these animals are lean, mean killing machines that can destroy many populations of animals and stand as a threat to humans.

Scientist fear that huge 250 pound Burmese Pythons could spread from South Florida to much of the Southern United States. According to a survey report, pythons find ⅓ of the United States to be comfortable for them to spread. Snakes such as Burmese Pythons have shown to be highly adaptable. These snakes can slither at a constant rate of 20 miles, and they never stop moving. The Burmese Python have killed children who were mistaken for food and are unable to stop their instinctive reaction to coil and squeeze. However, Burmese Pythons will have to get past Florida’s alligators first. The absence of predators such as alligators can make these snakes’ journey much easier.

With no regular meals for pythons these “eating machines” are devouring “huge numbers” of animals. (Andrew Ng, Page 45, Paragraph 1) And when you have pythons killing and eating animals, it becomes a threat to our Florida Everglades. It has even come to the making of a “python challenge”. (Source 3: Advertisement, Page 46) Where they are willing to hire anyone to kill a python. All you have to do is pay “pay a $25 registration fee” and you’ll get a lessons from “experts” who know about hunting. Even though this could be an even bigger threat to the Everglades, rather than the Burmese pythons

The origin of Burmese python can be attributed to the regions of South East Asia including Burma,Thailand, China, and the regions of Archipelago. There is continued decrease of the python in its native land, which has placed

Each year, Miami receives 12,000 exotic pet shipments, many of which are the Burmese Python. A person who takes in a 20-inch baby python might be understandably surprised when it becomes a 12-foot, 200

In January 2013 in an effort to curb the python problem Florida began it’s very first ever python hunt. Thousands of hopeful hunters have signed up for a month long challenge where prizes for the longest snake and others are up for grabs. People from around the country have slithered their way to Florida in hopes of bagging a Burmese python or two. As of January 25th

Although, the Everglades is a very special and cool place. But there are way too many pythons there and we need a way to get them out, because it’s hurting the entire place. Pythons are causing huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and many more animals. The python has no natural predators meaning they are wiping out many important animals. According to source 2, “With no natural predators, these eating machines appear to be wiping out huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and bobcats, as well as many bird species.” Florida’s natural climate is very hot and humid which makes it harder to get those snakes out of here. According to source 1, “Burmese pythons are carnivores and survived primarily on small birds and mammals.” Another thing that horrible is that the population keeps growing and growing and it’s dangerous for us and animals also the everglades. Sadly, the everglades is changing rapidly and it’s not good. Now that you know about what’s happening to Florida and the everglades. Are you sacred yet?

A cypress is a long, thin stretch of tropical hardwood swaps. In the Everglades National Park Florida panthers are most concentrated in an area called the " Hole in the Donut". Although there are some panthers living in the Everglades the Big Cypress Swap is more to their liking and because of this there are more panthers in the Big Cypress than in the Everglades. Since the majority of the panther population is in the Big Cypress, hunters are upset with some of these efforts such as the ban of all hunting dogs, all-terrain vehicles and airboats in the preserve which are to help aid the survival of the panther. Because unlike the Everglades where hunting of deer and boar is allowed, in the Big Cypress it is not, and the Big Cypress is fully stocked with both of those animals.