Looking for a Career Change? Consider Becoming a Python Hunter

MIAMI, FL — Are you looking for a career change? Do you consider your boss to be a big snake?

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The South Florida Water Management District may have a new gig for you as one of 25 snake hunters that will help rid — or at least manage — the invasive Burmese Python population that has been wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem for years and turning up in some unusual places.

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For example, Biscayne National Park recently reported a 9-foot Burmese Python sunning itself on an offshore platform two to four football fields away from land.

"Anyone who has seen the now famous python vs. alligator video can attest that the fight for survival of the Everglades is real," said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Dan O'Keefe after officials authorized a 60-day paid pilot program on Thursday. "This board is taking appropriate action to push back the infestation of these invaders. Floridians should have no sympathies for this notorious strangler, and this latest initiative should pave the way for further exotic elimination efforts."

Officials will begin accepting applications on Friday and the lucky 25 will get to work on April 1 with "unprecedented access" to district-owned lands in the latest effort to remove the slimy predator from the Everglades.

Snake hunters will be earn minimum wage up to eight hours each day with a significant bonus for actually finding Python.

"Depending on the size of the snake presented, there will be an additional on-the-spot per python payment of $50 for pythons measuring up to 4 feet and an extra $25 for each foot measured above 4 feet," officials said.

A 6-foot python will get you $100, while an 8-footer brings in $150, assuming each hunter catches one. They will be given instructions and field identification guides with access to district lands "infested with pythons" in Miami-Dade County.

If you are still on the fence, officials will throw in an extra $100 will for each eliminated python nest that has eggs.

"Everyone is welcome to apply to become a participant by completing and submitting an application found on the website," officials added. "The district reserves the right to select applicants that have demonstrable experience, or other relevant expertise, over other candidates." They must also be at least 18 years old with a valid driver's license and access to an iPhone or Android smartphone to use required GPS software.

Participants may not have been convicted of any wildlife-related offense.

Officials said there have been increased sightings of pythons from 2005 to 2010 though they could not provide an estimate of how many pythons inhabit South Florida.

"This species was once relegated to only Everglades National Park and Miami-Dade County, but recent tracking shows these pythons are moving westward into locations like Big Cypress National Preserve and Collier County and northward into Broward and Palm Beach counties," officials explained.

As part of a 2015 University of Florida study, researchers released 95 adult marsh rabbits in areas known to harbor pythons. Within 11 months of their release in the Everglades, the study found that pythons accounted for 77 percent of the rabbit deaths, reducing prey for native predators.

Photo and image courtesy of the South Florida Water Management District