Giant pythons capable of swallowing a dog and even an alligator
are rapidly making south Florida their home, potentially
threatening other southeastern states, a study said. Br> (AFP/File/Gabriel Bouys)
Posted on 05/15/2008 9:54:51 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Giant pythons capable of swallowing a dog and even an alligator are rapidly making south Florida their home, potentially threatening other southeastern states, a study said.
"Pythons are likely to colonize anywhere alligators live, including north Florida, Georgia and Louisiana," said Frank Mazzotti, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor, in his two-year study.
The pythons thriving in Florida are mostly Burmese pythons from Myanmar that were brought over as pets and then turned loose in the wild.
From 2002-2005, 201 of the beasts were caught by state authorities, but in the last two years the number has more than doubled to 418, Mazzotti said in his study published on the university website.
The largest python caught so far in Florida measured five meters (16.4 feet) and weighed 70 kilograms (154 pounds).
Mazzotti said the serpents, despite their awesome size, are not poisonous, but are excellent swimmers and able to cover great distances in little time. Some, trapped and released with radio transmitters, swam 60 kilometers (37 miles) in a few hours.
Highly adaptable, pythons prey on cats, dogs, hares, foxes, squirrels, raccoons and even alligators, allowing them to thrive in a variety of environments.
After populating the Florida Everglades -- a vast marshland -- where it is estimated they number 30,000, the giant python is now spreading across the rest of the peninsula.
"Females may store sperm, so they can produce fertile clutches for years. And a 100-something pound snake can easily be producing 60, 80 eggs a year," said Mazzotti, adding that the reptile could eventually populate the entire southern United States.
We’re doomed, Norm. Doomed I tell you.
:-)
Giant pythons capable of swallowing a dog and even an alligator
are rapidly making south Florida their home, potentially
threatening other southeastern states, a study said. Br> (AFP/File/Gabriel Bouys)
Baby gators.
At least they are bigger than our water moccasins, therefore easier to see and shoot with a 20 gauge.
Anybody know a good recipe?
Put them on the Endangered Species list NOW!!!
MMMmmmm....
Nothing like fresh grilled python.
Not to worry. They are the natural prey of Killer Bees. At least the Killer Bees that survive attacks from Fire Ants.
Ping of interest
maybe all the pythons (30,000?) is the real reason they may be delaying the everglades reservoir project..
Huge project to restore Everglades to be suspended
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080516/ap_on_re_us/everglades_reservoir_2
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Construction on a huge reservoir meant to help restore the Everglades will be put on hold over a lawsuit brought by a group that fears the water could be diverted for other purposes.
The South Florida Water Management District, whose board voted Thursday to stop work, has already spent about $250 million on construction. The delay could cost nearly $14 million.
The 25-square-mile reservoir — the largest of its kind in the world — is estimated to cost up to $800 million and was set for completion in 2010.
No one disagrees that storing runoff water is key to reviving the famed River of Grass. But the Natural Resources Defense Council is suing, claiming the state has not legally committed itself to using the water primarily for restoration.
Oh Auntie Em, Auntie Em ... its a TWISTER, its a TWISTER !!!
Nope. It's probably because of environmental idiots, and the taxpayers are going to pay for these idiots.
I hope that we get a couple of those Floridian-winter 3-day freezes that Floridians dread for the orange crops.
That should wipe out the python population, enough that the ingenious king snakes can take care of it ( I hope ).
a new industry : Python skin wallets and purses and cowboy boots
They look great and last a long time
Unless the ‘Glades freeze over, there’s little chance the weather will harm them. And for any Louisianan’s thinking the pythons will solve their nutria problem, forget about it. They have already tried it in Kenya; the scientific community has concluded they are ineffective for controlling the nutria population.
Exactly...Create a market for the skin and let the state pay a reasonable bounty on them also. Doubt they’d be cleaned out but they’d be controlled.
The enviro nutjobs would go ballistic. LOL!
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