UF researchers track big snakes in Everglades Park

September 23, 2008

The story at first appears to be plucked from the plot of the iconic 1984 “Ghostbusters” movie: three researchers, armed with electronic devices, attempting to save the world from pesky invaders.

But this is no humorous movie script. The invaders and researchers are real, and the setting is South Florida.

Giant Burmese pythons, native to Southeast Asia, are the invader in this unscripted story in Everglades National Park. It’s a story that rivals larger-than-life movie proportions with snakes that grow to a length of as much as 23 feet and a weight of nearly 200 pounds. The mere size of the reptile creates great potential for harm to the ecosystem and humans, and the pythons are rapidly multiplying. As many as 85 eggs have been found with Everglades females.

While an exact population is unknown, “it’s certainly in the thousands,” University of Florida Associate Professor Frank Mazzotti said.

Mazzotti leads a sort of UF “snake busters” group that is comprised of Wildlife Biologist Mike Cherkiss and Wildlife Research Assistant Mike Rochford. Using hand-held radios to track snakes that have been implanted with special tracking devices, the group studies how the snakes live and move throughout the region. The UF efforts are coordinated with the U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey and South Florida Water Management District, as part of a special Python Science Support Team.

Weekly, a team member flies over a vast section of the Everglades to plot the location of the five transmitting snakes. This enables researchers to more easily find the snakes by foot when closer observation is desired.

During breeding season, the team is led to large groups called aggregations. The non-transmitting snakes are captured and euthanized, but the python population continues to rapidly grow.

It’s feared that as the population rises, an increase in incidental contact with humans is inevitable.

According to Mazzotti, there is no evidence that wild Burmese pythons hunt humans, yet he added that the reptiles occasionally have killed their owners while in captivity.

“The greater risk (than attack) to humans is pythons in the roadways,” Mazzotti said.

Pythons are especially troublesome in the Everglades because the hot, humid climate and dense, subtropical vegetation create a perfect environment for the species to thrive.

Pet owners play an important role, too. A small, docile reptile may be purchased at a trade show or pet store, but then a few years later, an owner may be unable to care for a huge predator.

“Large pythons can easily outstrip the ability of most snake owners to care for them — or more importantly, to contain them. Then, either through intentional, illegal releases or accidental escapes, the snakes are introduced into the wild,” Mazzotti said.

During hurricane season, the risk of accidental escape increases when pet owners may evacuate their homes, leaving a snake unattended.

“The best thing to help the python problem is for pet owners to be responsible,” Mazzotti said. He credits Florida for creating a Pet Amnesty Day when pet owners may turn over their unwanted pets. “I’d love to see it be even more than once a year. Maybe someday it will be all year,” he said.

For additional information about UF python research, visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW286. Information about Pet Amnesty Day is available at
www.myfwc.com/nonnatives.