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Posted by Alex Harper (152.163.100.7) on 11:24:11 01/01/07
In Reply to: python article from AP posted by dc
I was a few days late for the python topic below, so here is a new post...
Obviously these very large, adaptable snakes pose a large problem on the Everglades. They are everywhere, and in very high numbers. They can be found almost all over the National Park, the agricultural fields of Florida City and Homestead (I grabbed a five-footer right near Robert is Here), and even further north than I-75 (they are in southern Palm Beach County now). A few snakes have turned up along Loop Road recently, and there are verifiable reports from Collier-Seminole State Park. If anyone is familiar with "Lucky Hammock" just outside of the park, that area has a lot of pythons. When the fields right around the hammock were mowed, nearly forty dead pythons were found. That is just last year. Two years ago about thirty were found. That habitat isn't even as favorable as the rest of the park. I think nearly every sort of animal has been found in the stomachs of pythons, from House Wrens to Bobcats and American Alligators.
I understand it is inhumane to find and kill every snake seen out there, but there are probably over a hundred thousand in south Florida. It would be nice to find a home for all of them, but thats not realistic. The reason they are out there in the first place is because they were too tough for an ignorant owner/s to handle.
I personally love snakes. I own a couple of them and one of my greatest hobbies is going out and finding them in the wild. It is very tough for me to suggest that killing them is the best thing to do. The animals are beautiful and its a thrill to find one in the wild. However, the Everglades cannot sustain such a large predator species.
For those who have not seen a python in the park, and you visit regularly, you will see one eventually. I have seen six since late August and have only visited seven times! They are active at night and can be seen on the road ways after dark. Even though they are exotic, they are still protected in the park. I have reported where I have seen the snakes when I'm not with a biologist fiend who has the proper permits to remove the snakes.
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