Python Challenge nets 195 invasive snakes, $10K to winner

Florida’s Everglades have been freed from nearly 200 invasive pythons in the past 10 days, the 2024 Florida Python Challenge revealed Tuesday as it announced the event’s winners.

Grand Prize winner Ronald Kiger, last year’s winner, won $10,000 for the removal of 20 Burmese pythons during the 10 day huntheld to raise awareness of the threat invasive reptiles pose to the ecosystem.

In the absence of natural predators, invasive species devastate native animal populations. Prey on birds, mammals and other reptiles, from alligators to deer to pets, are concentrated in South Florida, mainly in and around the Everglades, according to the Fish Conservation Commission and Florida Wildlife.

Kiger was one of 857 participants from 33 states and Canada who removed 195 of the invasive reptiles from South Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Donna Kalil, a contractor with the South Florida Water Management District, trapped 19 pythons and won $2,500 in the professional category; Marcos Rodriguez won $1,500 for catching 16 pythons. Quentin Archie won a $1,000 prize for the longest python caught in the professional category, at 8 feet 11 inches.

The challenge was held last month, during the hatching season. Burmese pythons can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time, making August an ideal time to catch them before they breed. They pose dangers to native animals, from spreading disease to containing high levels of mercury.

“More than 14,000 pythons have been successfully removed by FWC and South Florida Water Management District contractors since 2017,” said FWC President Rodney Barreto in a media release. “This collective effort continues to have a direct positive impact on the Everglades and our native wildlife through removal and awareness.”

U the battle is done all year round but it gets a boost with annual competitions. The FWC took his 5,000^th python in summer 2020. In January the state held its Python Bowl 2020, capitalizing on the attention drawn by the Super Bowl in Miami. It was also the year that Florida introduced the first python-sniffing dog. Since 2000, more than 22,000 of the slithering snakes have been removed.

“Every invasive python that is removed makes a difference to Florida’s environment and its native wildlife,” South Florida Water Management District Board Member “Alligator Ron” Bergeron said. said in the WFC statement.

The longest ever caught in the state as of July 2023 was a record 19-foot-long female weighing 125 pounds, snapped up by a local hunter, surpassing the 2018 record of 18 feet, 4 inches.

With News Wire Services