That’s enough internet for me today.
I can’t wait to have nightmares about a “500-pound pile of pythons,” and I guess I have the state of Florida to think. Because where else would a story like this take place?
Back in February, wildlife conservators stumbled upon a shocking amount of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades. That’s obviously not a surprise considering the fact that around 20,000 of the invasive species have been removed from the Florida swampland since 2006.
But this time, it was the specific way these pythons were positioned that made for an interesting story. The members of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida removed 500 pounds of pythons in one day, and they were easily found because they all happened to be in a 500-pound pile.
According to the conservancy, 11 total Burmese pythons were discovered in three different aggregations, which the official referred to as “mating balls.” Of the 11 massive snakes found in those piles, which added up to 500 pounds, there was one female snake and the rest were males.
The conservancy was able to remove all of that they found in the “breeding piles,” which made for a record day. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has worked to remove the invasive species for over a decade, and this capture was the most they had ever done in one day.
And it was great timing by the group too, since female Burmese pythons can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time. The fast and fruitful reproduction of the large snakes is what has made them so hard to deal with as an invasive species in the state of Florida.
The presence of Burmese pythons, especially the excessive amount of them, has led to an exponential decrease in the mammal population in the Florida Everglades. That’s why the conservancy, as well as other groups, work so diligently to remove the massive, invasive pythons.
