‘Likely Impossible’ To Expunge Burmese Python Population In FL: Report

SOUTH FLORIDA — While Burmese pythons have been found in the greater Everglades area for decades — since the late 1970s — the invasive species has spread further north into other parts of South Florida, according to reports.

The snakes have been found in the southern third of Florida from the East Coast to the West Coast and as far north as the Fort Myers area, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. A map of Burmese python incidents can be found here.

Native to Southeast Asia, they were first found in the Everglades as early as 1979, likely pets that escaped or were released, according to a paper published in January by the U.S. Geological Survey.

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was clear the snakes were reproducing, and the Everglades National Park designated the Burmese python as an established invasive species.

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“In the four decades since the first individual was recorded, the python population has grown and spread, consuming native wildlife and altering the food web in the Everglades,” according to the report.

While efforts have been made to slow the species’ spread and growing population, more needs to be done, the agency said.

“Burmese pythons in southern Florida represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe,” the report reads. “The problem stems from a unique combination of inaccessible habitat with the cryptic and resilient nature of pythons that do very well in the subtropical environment of southern Florida, rendering them extremely difficult to detect.”

Efforts have been made to capture and remove the species from the Everglades. From 2017 to 2021 alone, nearly 11,000 pythons were removed, data shows.

Unfortunately, the snakes are often difficult to find in the wild.

“Very low individual detection probabilities for Burmese pythons remain the greatest obstacle to developing landscape-scale control programs,” the agency said in its report. “Controlling population expansion and minimizing the impact of pythons to natural resources is a pressing concern as billions of dollars have been spent in attempts to restore the Everglades after more than 100 years of extensive wetland alteration. Consequently, invasive species, including Burmese pythons, represent one of the greatest threats to restoration success.”

The agency said the focus needs to be on “concerted efforts” and “cost-effective control methods” to remove the snakes, as well as a better understanding of how the species affects natural resources in Florida and its reproductive habits.

Researchers suggested genetic biocontrol tools, which are in early stages of development, to control the python population.

Still, even with new tools and expanded efforts to control Burmese pythons, it’s not looking good for Florida.

“Overall, eradication of pythons in southern Florida is likely impossible,” according to the report. “Suppression of the python population, even at local scales, will require strategic coordination of researchers, land managers, funding, public outreach, implementation of several different complementary tools and rigorous evaluation of these tools.”