Burmese Pythons Don’t Care

Like the villains of a very bad horror movie, Burmese Pythons are growing to monsterous sizes by eating everything in sight! They are, in fact, wiping out wildlife as we formerly knew it in the Everglades of South Florida. The Sun Sentinel reports an 87% decline of Bobcats, a 99% decline of opossums, and a 99% decline of raccoons. All of these animals were once prevalent in the southern region of Everglades National Park.

But, like Honey Badger of YouTube fame, Burmese Pythons “don’t care.” They just wait patiently in the swamp until a marsh rabbit or fox comes along, and then they strike--squeezing and swallowing. One enormous python, 162 pounds and 15 feet long, was caught and found to have eaten a 6-foot alligator. Yikes! Clearly, when pythons get hungry, they don't give a crap. They'll eat anything!

I have written about non-native invasive species before on my blog in "Die, Invasive Species, Die!". Most of them were eradicated in the cold snap of two years ago, but guess what? They’re b-a-a-a-ck! Naturalists suspect that the pythons were either dumped by pet owners who got sick of feeding them or escaped from pet stores during Hurricane Andrew. Obama’s administration just announced a ban on imports of Burmese Pythons and other large constricting snakes. Unfortunately, the pythons have had years to become well established in the Everglades. Over the past 12 years, almost 2,000 of them have been captured. Estimates of the population are in the tens of thousands.

The decline in native mammals is upsetting the ecosystem of the Florida Everglades. Not only that, but what happens when all the animal prey is eaten? Will humans be next? Pythons can swim. Perhaps I should rethink my kayaking trips in and around the canals and Rainberry Lake.