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Old January 13th, 2010 #100
Alex Linder
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[Latest on African rock pythons, an aggressive species, on the loose in Florida]

No sun, no slither; chilly snakes make easier targets for hunters of invasive pythons

By Paul Quinlan

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Jan. 13, 2010

THREE AFRICAN ROCK PYTHONS — the fiercest of the python breeds feared to have infested Florida wilds — were captured in the wilds of western Miami-Dade County on Tuesday, the first day of a three-day sweep targeting the aggressive reptilian invader.

The catch — one 12-footer and two 14.5-footers — brings the total number of African rock pythons bagged in Florida to at least 10, raising worries that Africa's largest snake might be breeding in the Everglades among the estimated tens of thousands of the comparatively even-tempered Burmese cousins, according to Scott Hardin, exotic-species specialist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"We're finding more and more," said LeRoy Rodgers, a scientist with the South Florida Water Management District out on the hunt. "We feel pretty certain that we're looking at at least the early part of an established population."

The hunt was planned far in advance to coincide with cold weather, when the giant snakes tend to come out of hiding to sun themselves on levees, roadsides and clearings. The severe cold snap has only helped, plunging the snakes into a lethargy that's given hunters an edge.

"We've been more successful than I would have imagined," said Denis Giardina, one of the hunters and part of a team charged with ridding the Everglades of invasive species.

The three-day strike against the African rock pythons is focusing on area where they have turned up previously, on lands southeast of the intersection of Tamiami Trail and Krome Avenue in western Miami-Dade, not far from the Miccosukee Indian casino.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/no...er-177067.html

1 COMMENT Comments feed

Invasive species began turning up in the Everglades over thirty years ago. Today they are reproducing, with no natural predators. Pet importers want to continue bringing in creatures that find their way into the neighborhood. Contact Congress and Representatives to stop importing exotics. Some owners do register and care for their pets, most do not comply: releasing, rather than responsibly euthanize. I am checking the easement, trees, and under plants in Flamingo Park before poking around!
S. C. Green
3:25 PM, 1/13/2010