Florida Teen Captures 28 Pythons, Wins State Competition

MIAMI, FL — A 19-year-old Florida man captured more than two dozen Burmese pythons during a recent annual event held by the state designed to raise awareness about invasive species and the threats they pose to Florida’s ecology.

Matthew Concepcion removed 28 Burmese pythons during the Florida Python Challenge held in the Everglades, winning a $10,000 grand prize given by the Bergeron Everglades Foundation, according to a news release from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Dustin Crum won a $1,500 grand prize for the longest python removed in the competition at a length of just over 11 feet, the commission said.

"Once again, the Florida Python Challenge has yielded impressive results with hundreds of invasive pythons being removed from the wild," Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement. "Removing these snakes is one of the many efforts we are employing to restore and maintain the Everglades ecosystem."

This year's challenge drew participants from 32 states, Canada, and Latvia, NBC News reported.

According to the commission, Burmese pythons are not native to Florida and can negatively affect native species. They are found primarily in and around the south Florida Everglades where they prey on birds, mammals, and other reptiles. A female Burmese python may lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time.

Since 2000, more than 17,000 wild Burmese pythons have been removed from the state of Florida, the commission said.

In Florida, anyone can capture and humanely kill nonnative reptiles like Burmese pythons at any time so long as they're on private land with landowner permission or on 25 commission-managed lands throughout south Florida.

Learn more about removing pythons in Florida.