“We need to try multiple methods, multiple ways to try to control these animals,” she said.īurmese pythons were introduced to the Everglades in the 1980s by the exotic pet trade industry, but their sale was outlawed in 2012, said Stephen Leatherman, an earth and environment professor at Florida International University in Miami. The state is seeking to improve detection of pythons in the wild, because they are skilled at camouflaging and settling in remote areas, Ms. “It is a remarkable animal and it’s here from no fault of their own,” he said. While the search for pythons can feel like a stakeout (the hunting and catching) and even resemble a crime scene (as researchers look through the contents of pythons’ stomachs), the snake hunters say they have a lot of respect for those carnivores, Mr. The snake hunters place tracking devices on the males and focus on the areas to which they migrate during breeding season, which runs from November to March. The conservancy uses male snakes - in this case, a specimen they have named Dion - to find the females ensconced in hard-to-reach places, Mr. The snake was captured in December, and the team waited until breeding season was over in March to start measuring and conducting research on the ones they found. There’s probably a bigger snake in the Glades somewhere.” “And imagine how many more snakes close to that size are out there. “You just stop for a second and think, ‘What did it take to make a 215-pound snake?’” Mr.

Largest anaconda ever