The Mysterious Snakes Of Burmese Pythons

BURMESE PYTHONS Stephanie Diaz Tuesday, June 21, 2016 Dr. Marguerite Koch Principles of Ecology Introduction Burmese Pythons and their effect on native species in the Everglades Burmese Pythons is a non-native pest in the United States of America, which originated from South Asia. The species is becoming an established breeding population in South Florida and its environs. The python was illegally freed in the Everglades National park where the marshy grasses and water provide a conducive environment for its survival. Burmese python was recognized as a reproducing population around the year 2000. The python has been classified as an invasive species in Florida. The species has disrupted the ecosystem by preying on native species and out-competing them for food. The python is a successful invasive species because their large size makes it have fewer predators (alligators and humans) (Brown, 2006). Efforts have been put in place to manage the increase of the Burmese pythons due to the devastating effects it has caused in the ecosystem. Python removal and control is being done through dogs and human search. Dog search has recorded much greater success than human beings because humans cannot access some areas due to the thick vegetation.

The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is one of the largest snakes in the world, measuring up to 5.74 meters long and weighing up to 182.8 kilograms. The species is native to southeast Asia and in its native habitat, consumes a wide array of prey including many different mammal, amphibian, lizard, snake, bird, and fish species (Snow et al. 2007). In southern Florida, pythons have established themselves across thousands of square kilometers including all of Everglades National Park (Boback et al. 2016). Research points to multiple instances of pet release to be the cause of their introduction to the Everglades as a foreign species (Snow et al. 2007). Python populations have significantly increased in both abundance and geographic range in the Everglades since their introduction, preying on a wide variety of native mammals and birds, posing a serious problem as an invasive species and apex predator (Dorcas et al. 2012).

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.

Burmese Python Predatory Species of the Florida Everglades The Burmese python has become a predatory species in the Florida Everglades. The Burmese Python has slowly been taking over the Florida Everglades eating small animals and causing massive destruction. The reason for this problem is the growth rate of the species occurring all over the Everglades. The ecosystem is perfect for the ever growing population of Burmese pythons in the Everglades. Pythons have migrated to the Florida Everglades by irresponsible pet owners and escaping from their homes.

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.

The Burmese Python is one of the most invasive of these non-native species. The snakes originate from Southeast Asia, so they thrive in Florida’s similar environment. The Everglades became sort of a paradise to the pythons, since their introduction in the early 1990’s.

Burmese Pythons Taking over with no natural predator, the Burmese Python. These very large pythons have been effecting our Everglades drastically. Once native to the swampy marshes of Southeast Asia, these snakes are now migrating over to Florida. Being so large and having no natural predator, they have really made a

Burmese Python Burmese pythons are overpopulating the Everglades. People buy them when they are babies, so they are small, but when they keep growing they get too big. Eventually the people that bought them just let them go, into the wild, so now they are out in the open ruining everything.The

Whether you love or hate snakes, one thing is for sure, Burmese pythons are taking over the everglades. The Burmese pythons are in the Everglades where they don’t belong. They were purchased as pets released in the Everglades, and now eating native animals . This is a serious problem for the ecosystem

Thease are some reasons how pythons got to the everglads. One of the reasons why the pythons got to the everglades people kept them as pets. People who have pythons are not realzing how big they can get and when they get big they relise them into the wild and in flardo they made there way to the evere gladys. Another way they got there there was a storm and people had baby pythonspythons. and a storm came and then killed some of the babys and then flew away to the evere gladys. Some of they slitherd away to the evere gladys.

In "In Defense of Everglade Pythons" one of the environmental factors are the pythons. People have been releasing

To lead off, the Burmese python is changing local animals. The python is an eating machine, so they consume all of the animals native to the Everglades. If they eat all of the animals, the Everglades will be a grim place to be. The pythons are taking away from the beauty of the Everglades. In text 2 it states, “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.” This is evidence that these snakes are gruesome. If the pythons eat all the animals from lagoons and surrounding land, it can rupture the food chain. This is why the pythons are dreadful to the Everglades.

This snake is like no other. After a very intense look at the intense Burmese python, it can be very frightening and dismaying! After this species became a dangerous and needed to be aware species. Life in the wild, including animals and even insects were threatened extremely. The Everglades’ food is suffering from imbalanced as a result of the Burmese python. Because the python does not have any natural predators, it has come in and taken over. According to the article “Florida’s Python Hunt” by Andrew Ng, the population of small rodents such as raccoons, opossums, and bobcats have been depleted due to the pythons preying on them. The python, however, does not have a predator and so it lives and eats, lives and eats while other animals

Based on the three articles that i have read about the Burmese pythons I think that they are a threat to smaller animals.The article titled floridas python hunt says in the first paragraph that ''there is a growing population of burmese pythons.many pets turned loose by there owners when they are too big . they are threating the ecosystem of floridas everglades'.The article also says that ''with no natural predators,these eating machines appear to be wipping

The Burmese python is extinguishing the populations of animals in the unique lush environment called the Everglades. It’s rapidly growing in population while destroying the existence of other animals. It’s time to put a stop to what we have done because we are the only ones who can make a