Can Florida be normal even once?
From gators climbing fences, to monkeys diving out of trees, to cougars running on boardwalks, to a woman discovering whatever the hell this is, the Sunshine State has made more than a few headlines over the years, and that doesn’t even dive into the hurricanes, meth heads, beach bums, and spring breakers than just take the beautiful state to absolutely sky high weird levels.
I lived in Florida for about 4 years and an under the radar story that’s started making its way though to the mainstream is an infestation of an invasive species taking over the Everglades.
For years people have claimed to see giant Burmese pythons in the southern swamps, but it wasn’t until the ’90s when the first official sighting was confirmed. They’re not native to the state, but once a decent number of them made a home in the wildlife rich area, the population absolutely exploded.
A true estimate of just how many call Florida home is hard to get due to their reclusive nature, but some wildlife experts now estimate there are over 1 million pythons living in southern Florida, which has absolutely devastated all kinds of native animals. Over 90% of all small game animals in the Everglades have been wiped off the map, and the predators are now known to take out even alligators, formerly at the top of the food chain in the swamps.
There are now so many of these snakes that people are running into them when not even looking, like just the other day when a monster stopped traffic on a road crossing the Glades.
In a video credited to Kymberly Clark, an over 10 foot long python is seen making its way across the street, halting traffic and causing the motorists to get out of their cars for a closer look.
I mean, hell, this this so big it honestly doesn’t make much sense. Those are just chilling the water and grasses? Terrifying.
The snake did makes its way off the road eventually, but my goodness can you imagine not seeing it in time and hitting it like a speed bump? Could have been a disaster, especially if the car swerved off the road and into the thicket with who knows how many more of these monsters.
Keep your eyes open, Floridians, you never know what’s going to get in your way…
