January 31, 2012 in Nation/World

Pythons wreaking havoc on Everglades wildlife

Matt Sedensky Associated Press

Worrying scenario

Scientists point with concern to what happened in Guam, where the invasive brown tree snake has killed off birds, bats and lizards that pollinated trees and flowers and dispersed seeds. That has led to declines in native trees, fish-eating birds and certain plants.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A burgeoning population of huge pythons – many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big – appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says.

The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sightings of medium-size mammals are down dramatically – as much as 99 percent, in some cases – in areas where pythons and other large, non-native constrictor snakes are known to be lurking.

Scientists fear the pythons could disrupt the food chain and upset the Everglades’ environmental balance in ways difficult to predict.

“The effects of declining mammal populations on the overall Everglades ecosystem, which extends well beyond the national park boundaries, are likely profound,” said John Willson, a research scientist at Virginia Tech University and co-author of the study.

Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the warm, humid climate. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and have been reproducing ever since.

Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds, and they have been known to swallow animals as large as alligators. They and other constrictor snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it.

The National Park Service has counted 1,825 Burmese pythons that have been caught in and around Everglades National Park since 2000. Among the largest so far was a 156-pound, 16.4-foot one captured earlier this month.

For the study, researchers drove 39,000 miles along Everglades-area roads from 2003 through 2011, counting wildlife spotted along the way and comparing the results with surveys conducted on the same routes in 1996 and 1997.

The researchers found staggering declines in animal sightings: a drop of 99.3 percent among raccoons, 98.9 percent for opossums, 94.1 percent for white-tailed deer and 87.5 percent for bobcats. Along roads where python populations are believed to be smaller, declines were lower but still notable.

Rabbits and foxes, which were commonly spotted in 1996 and 1997, were not seen at all in the later counts. Researchers noted slight increases in coyotes, Florida panthers, rodents and other mammals, but discounted that finding because so few were spotted overall.

“The magnitude of these declines underscores the apparent incredible density of pythons in Everglades National Park,” said Michael Dorcas, a professor at Davidson College in North Carolina and lead author of the study.

Although scientists cannot definitively say the pythons are killing off the mammals, the snakes are the prime suspect. The increase in pythons coincides with the mammals’ decrease, and the decline appears to grow in magnitude with the size of the snakes’ population in an area. A single disease appears unlikely to be the cause since several species were affected.

The report says the effect on the overall ecosystem is hard to predict. Declines among bobcats and foxes, which eat rabbits, could be linked to pythons’ feasting on rabbits. On the flip side, declines among raccoons, which eat eggs, may help some turtles, crocodiles and birds.

In 2010, Florida banned private ownership of Burmese pythons. Earlier this month, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a federal ban on the import of Burmese pythons and three other snakes.

Salazar said Monday that the study shows why such restrictions were needed.

“This study paints a stark picture of the real damage that Burmese pythons are causing to native wildlife and the Florida economy,” he said.

12 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

greenlibertarian on January 31 at 4:05 a.m.
Pythons? Put a $2,000 bounty on them, problem solved.
Times are tough.
dataxman on January 31 at 4:12 a.m.
$2000 each? I would start a breeding program in my basement and would have my house paid off in a year. These things are prolific breeders
Northern_kid on January 31 at 6:40 a.m.
Actually I think $200 for those less than 10 feet and $300 for those more than 10 feet and you’d have plenty of people out there catching them.
Dr_Dachshund on January 31 at 8:11 a.m.
And this is all thanks to the idiots who like keeping Pythons as pets, and then dump them when they get too big to handle. Unfortunately, unlike dogs or cats, not many would want to “adopt” a pet that can crush one and gulp one down (albeit overnight!)
What happens next after the pythons finish off the wild mammal supply? I bet they’ll move in to the suburbs and start on their new diet - kids and pets!
I like the suggestions given above - also just get all the fashion designers to come on down to Florida, and get all the raw material for their boots and jackets and whatnots! Heck, it may make Python material affordable for a while!
Coffee on January 31 at 8:34 a.m.
Sounds like a great place for occupy wall street to set up a camp.
RedCedar on January 31 at 8:57 a.m.
Probably NOT coming to our neck of the woods any time soon.
David Bray on January 31 at 9:19 a.m.
The stupidity of Florida wildlife officials is disappointing.
These snakes aren’t supposed to be there, period. They’re not a part of the natural ecosystem. So do as the other commenter suggested! Put a bounty on them. Get rid of them……and make the fines for having them as pets very high.
A few years ago an infant in a crib was killed by someones “pet” python. It will happen again as these snakes hunt for food. If the Florida officials take action sooner than later, they may prevent a few deaths.
misjustice on January 31 at 10:44 a.m.
Pythons wreaking havoc on Everglades wildlife; snakes, Robme and Getrich, expected to leave after vote on Tuesday.
; )
Northern_kid on January 31 at 10:52 a.m.
It just hit how to drive down the population of the pythons AND feed the fine folks of the South. Put out a Cook book dedicated to Pythons and extroll the exquisite (I may have 2 spelling errors there) taste of Pythons. Then after the fine folks of the South have eaten them into near obliviation then complain that hunting them should be outlawed and then watch the fine folks of the South simply go out and hunt them to defy what they perceive as over-regulation by the evil people in Wash DC.
MrNatural on January 31 at 11:03 a.m.
Well I imagine there will be a lot less snakes in Florida after today…but I think once ole Bubba figures out a backwoods recipe say “python gumbo” then in a few years Florida Fish and Wildlife will declare them endangered
greenlibertarian on January 31 at 12:23 p.m.
You could also specifically go after the creature’s eggs by boosting whatever predators go after those and the perhaps the baby pythons but I’m loath to try much “natural” efforts as they usually fall victim to the law of unintended consequences.
I think a bounty program combined with getting the skins into the hands of processors should make a strong dent in the population of these pythons.
Orphan on January 31 at 2:39 p.m.
Northern_kid You forgot the part about Python tasting just like chicken, LOL.