This Burmese python got caught but plenty of others are evading the state’s python hunting competitions. Credit: Andy Wraithmell via Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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Florida Lt. Gov Jeanette Nuñez announced on Thursday that registration to participate in 2024 Florida Python Challenge has begun. This year’s challenge is scheduled to take place between August 9-19 in the Everglades.
The annual event, which pays people bounties to capture Burmese Pythons, is organized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District and has taken place since 2013.
Burmese pythons have been confirmed to have an established breeding population in Everglades National Park since 2000, the United States Geological Survey reports. Their population has expanded since then.
“The Burmese Python is an invasive species that has wreaked havoc on our Everglades ecosystem and it’s a threat to native wildlife,” Nuñez said during a press conference held at a pump station along U.S. Highway 41 in Homestead.
“They prey upon native species. They compete with native wildlife for food and habitat, and they can also spread non-native diseases and parasites. That’s why FWC, the South Florida Water Management District, and our partners have been working cooperatively to manage and control these Burmese pythons and other invasive species throughout Florida.”
More than $25,000 in cash prizes will be available, with awards going to the individuals who catch the most pythons as well as the longest snake.
Alligator Ron Bergeron, a board member with the South Florida Water Management District, described the Burmese Python as “an animal that can get 200 pounds and 20 feet long and absolutely destroy the natural food chain of the Everglades.”
“And without a natural food chain, you cannot have a natural environment,” he added.
Nuñez said that more than 13,000 pythons have been removed in Florida since DeSantis became governor in 2019, but a 2023 report by the U.S. Geological Survey stated that “because the Burmese python has spread throughout southern Florida, eradication of the population across the landscape is not possible with existing tools.”
Their presence in the wild is attributed to snakes that escaped or were released from captivity.
In 2021, the Burmese python was added to Florida’s prohibited species list, making it illegal to buy, sell, or transport Burmese pythons, and anyone already owning the species as a pet must get them registered and microchipped.
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