Southwest Florida researchers tracking Burmese pythons for research, removal
NAPLES, Fla. – Some Burmese pythons across Florida are now being used to track down their female counterparts in an effort to remove them from the wild.
In Southwest Florida, wildlife biologists tag and track male pythons to find the whereabouts of female snakes during the breeding season. The “snitching,” in part, helps researchers understand the snake’s habitat and better control its population by removing them from the region.
“We have a tracking program at the Conservancy that began in 2013 and currently tracks 40 Burmese pythons,” Conservancy of Southwest Florida Science Coordinator Ian Bartoszek told Florida’s Voice. “Males are referred to as scout snakes and they help lead us to females during the breeding season that we humanely remove.”
According to Bartoszek, the agency has removed 1,300 pythons weighing in excess of 36,000 pounds from a control area of approximately 150 square miles in southwestern Florida.
“We apply the science to better remove pythons from the ecosystem,” he added.
The Burmese python, considered invasive to Florida, has begun showing up more frequently in other parts of the state. While having a domestic habitat around Southeast Asia, the snake has become an unwanted guest to Florida’s Everglades and beyond.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Burmese python sightings have increased in western Charlotte County, Lee County, and southern Sarasota County from 2015-2024. The snake has been specifically documented within the townships of Rotonda, Placida, Englewood, Gasparilla Island and Port Charlotte.
On average, Burmese pythons grow between six and nine feet. Although, the snake has reported to reach over 20 feet in length. Measuring 17 feet, 7 inches, a Burmese python was caught in the Everglades in 2012, a Florida record.
Burmese pythons have established and reproduced in Florida since at least 2000. The snake was originally released accidentally or intentionally through the pet trade largely in the 1980s and presents a threat to native wildlife.
However, the snake was removed in South Florida as early as 1979. Ever since, it population has boomed and strangled the Everglades region, particularly on its natural habitat.
“Burmese pythons are thought to be responsible for a 90% decline in native mammal populations across their established range,” the Conservancy said.
Burmese pythons preys on mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, including bobcats, opossum, raccoons and rabbits. These animals, since the python’s unwanted arrival, have dropped by 88 to 100 percent in areas of the Everglades ecosystem.
Exacerbating the problem, between 100,000 and 300,000 Burmese pythons could be roaming in the Everglades, making them difficult to control. As many as 100,000 snakes were imported to the United States, largely to Florida, between 1996-2006.
Overall, as many as 19,000 Burmese pythons have been removed or killed by hunters and researchers since 2000.
“If we can continue to target breeding female pythons for removal, the results are two-fold. We are keeping the invasive snakes from multiplying and reducing the overall impact on our native wildlife populations,” Conservancy President and CEO Rob Moher said.
Florida has banned Burmese python pet ownership since 2010. The U.S. Department of the Interior also prohibited the importation of the snake in 2012.
In 2017, the FWC initiated the Python Elimination Program, which allows public hunting of the snakes on designated lands in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee and Palm Beach counties.
“Burmese pythons are a Prohibited species in Florida, thus it is illegal in Florida to acquire a Burmese python as a pet,” the commission said. “Executive Order 23-16 allows for the lethal take of pythons and other nonnative reptiles from 32 Commission-managed lands year-round using humane and legal methods, with no bag limits.”
