Posted on 01/30/2012 2:12:24 PM PST by fso301
For the first time, scientists have put numbers to the toll Burmese pythons have had on native wildlife in the Everglades.
But one word can sum it up: carnage.
In the decade since the giant constrictors started showing up in significant numbers, mammals once among the most common in Everglades National Park have declined dramatically, according to a study published online Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
The study, based on night field surveys conducted over 10 years, found three animals had all but disappeared. Opossum sightings fell 98.9 percent. Raccoons — once so abundant park managers warned visitors to safeguard food from roaming groups of the wily thieves — dropped 99.3 percent. Marsh rabbits, brown bunnies frequently seen foraging along roads in the pre-python past, didn’t appear at all. Observations of bobcats, foxes and deer all also fell precipitously.
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
...............and now, for something entirely different!
Huh apex animal winning .
Would the mammals getting their clocks cleaned feel better if we hand em wildlife participation trophys.
The University of Florida Gators Constrictors!
The Jacksonville Pythons
The Orlando Carnivors
The Miami Snake Terror!
At least it wasn’t cased by global warming.
At least it wasn’t caused by global warming.
Python wiping out Glades mammals?!
Star paying top money for the hides and making cowboy boots out of them. It won’t take long for the locals to start rounding them up.
My understanding is freezing temperatures occasionally happen in the Everglades. I would think a strong cold front could quickly solve much of this problem.
>> Pythons are wreaking havoc on one of America’s most beautiful, treasured and naturally bountiful ecosystems ...
Guess she doesn’t get out much.
LOL!
snakeskin boots - now theres a real fashion statement.
go well with silver studded fashion vaquero jeans.
I just knew someone would go there - LOL
Would be racism to wipe out the pythons.../s
I really think Florida should promote python leather products, except there’s probably a professional courtesy agreement between them and the pythons and the politicians or they are afraid the good old boys might have trouble identifying the difference.
Of course after a multimillion dollar study they will probably promote the introduction of wild Russian boar to even up the odds. I know this needs a “/sarc/” tag.
Correction (over edited, Sorry)
I really think Florida should promote python leather products, except there’s probably a professional courtesy agreement between the pythons and the politicians or they are afraid the good old boys might have trouble identifying the difference.
Of course after a multimillion dollar study they will probably promote the introduction of wild Russian boar to even up the odds. I know this needs a “/sarc/” tag.
Contrast the reaction to the news that Burmese Pythons are wiping out animal life in the Everglades to the reacton we’d get if the same effect was due to — let’s say — a battery factory on which 6,000 jobs depended.
Contrast the reaction to the news that Burmese Pythons are wiping out animal life in the Everglades to the reacton we’d get if the same effect was due to — let’s say — a battery factory on which 6,000 jobs depended.
Guess she doesn’t get out much.
I agree with that. Back when we lived in Southern Louisiana, we took our kids to Florida for vacation and among other things, toured the Everglades. We quickly decided it was a waste of time because it didn't look much different from the extensive marshes and hammocks we were familiar with in South Louisiana.
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