Everglades National Park: Aliens and Ignorance

Here is my big research report of the semester that BYU Independent Study assigned to me-

Everglades National Park: Aliens and Ignorance

Throughout the years, there has been an ever-increasing problem in Everglades National Park. Non-native Burmese Pythons are exploding in population in the swamp-lands of Florida. They didn’t arrive by chance or mere coincidence; there is not a possibility that a species native to Asia could just appear in the United States. This report will review the causes and effects of the “Florida Python” (Current Status of the “Florida Python”).

“Do you really want a snake that may grow more than 20 feet long, weigh 200 pounds, urinate and defecate like a horse, live more than 25 years, and for whom you will have to provide mice, rats, and eventually rabbits?” these are the issues that Everglades National Park Snake Wranglers, Skip Snow and Lori Oberhofer, address in their “Disposable Pets, Unwanted Giants: Pythons in Everglades National Park” Report in 2006. The reasons people would take on the seemingly insane task of raising these animals is simply ignorance. Snow and Oberhofer point out that the pythons are “Bred by the hundreds” and “Sold for as little as twenty-dollars” (Disposable Pets, Unwanted Giants 8). These two factors spell a lot of the equation out; people are attracted to the small, cute, and (seemingly) inexpensive little hatchling pythons with the idea that they will always be the little reptile that can fit in their shirt pocket, this is far from the truth.

In fact, large pythons do not do well in captivity, they are often put in a container that is much too small for them and the snakes are unhappy and unhealthy (Nature’s Predators 67). After slowly and painfully watching their cute little reptilian friend turn into an expensive, dirty, and literally huge pain; owners decide that enough is enough. However, the Python is now that exact pain that was described by Snow and Oberhofer earlier. “Difficult to give away (let alone sell) a 6-12 foot python” (Pets, Unwanted Giants 8). What’s the simplest solution to their problem? Basically the same thing many people do when they have an old broken appliance; they take a drive down the road and dump it out in the nearest wilderness.

Although the pet trade has been an increasing source of invasive Burmese Pythons in the Everglades, one big event really pushed the invasion over the edge. Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992, destroying billions of dollars worth of property. The devastating hurricane hit all sorts of zoos, pet shops, and wildlife refuges; releasing animals all over the place. Mountain lions, primates, and all variety of exotic pets and exhibit animals were either euthanized or captured, but the pythons and various other reptiles slipped right into the swamps without a trace (Current Status of the “Florida Python”)(“Swamp Things.” The New Yorker 80).
Snakes are incredibly adaptable to their surroundings, and live virtually everywhere on earth excluding the polar regions of the earth (Reptiles 85).


Burmese Pythons do not need any specific prey to survive (Disposable Pets: Unwanted Giants 14). From hatchling to giant, they will eat all sorts of prey, varying in size (Nature’s Predators 50).
Why aren’t Pythons found in deserts of Arizona or the woods of Maryland? Why is Florida ground zero? The Everglades are closely matched to the native habitat in Asia where the pythons come naturally, which gives the released pets a good area to hunt and breed, although snakes are very adaptable, they survive best in the habitat they are meant to be in, Florida fits the bill (US Geological Survey).

Burmese Pythons are able to maintain a population because they are hardy, and can breed fairly quickly. They can go long periods without eating and live a long life (Disposable Pets: Unwanted Giants 14). The female Burmese Python in the Everglades has an average of 36 eggs per nest, therefore proving that the invasion is not going to be an easy task to control (Current Status of the “Florida Python”).

The Burmese Python is the most recognized invasive snake species in Everglades National Park. There have been reports of Reticulated Pythons which can grow up to an incredible 30 feet (Reptiles 102), and Green Anacondas, which can grow to a considerable size as well (Research on Introduced Florida Snakes).

No one really knows the exact number of wild Burmese Pythons in the Everglades (USGS Giant Constrictors). There are estimates of tens of thousands of snakes in the area (Python Hunt Under Way in Fla. Everglades). Susan McGrath tells of her experience searching for pythons in the Everglades in her National Geographic article “Attack of the Alien Invaders”. “Back at Flamingo Lodge, I blurt my news to the night manager. ‘So you saw a ten-foot python,’ he drawls. ‘That’s nothing.’” Clearly there is an established population of Burmese Pythons in the Everglades, what’s the point? What harm could they really do?

Python dissections have proven that they will eat virtually anything that will fit in their mouths, and that they can and do include endangered species in the park in their diet such as the Mangrove Fox Squirrel and the Great Egret. (Disposable Pets: Unwanted Giants 22-23).
The pythons also compete with other species for habitat and prey. Sometimes they even tangle with the top predator of the Southeastern United States, the American Alligator. Multiple photographs have been taken of these two killers in mortal combat, entangling one another in pure muscle, scales, and teeth (Disposable Pets: Unwanted Giants 19, 21).

There are many efforts to decimate the python population in the Everglades, there are people like Skip Snow and Lori Oberhofer that patrol the swamplands and research the best ways to prevent any further invasion, and these are complimented with other establishments as well. There has been an official python hunting season established for experienced herpetologist from July to the end of October. Commission spokeswoman Pat Behnke explains, “We are asking them when they do find the pythons that they must destroy them and then we ask that they collect data for us: location, weight, stomach contents, and so on, so we can start compiling a database.” (Python Hunt Under Way in Fla. Everglades).

These aliens didn’t come by chance or coincidence, the foundation for this ecological nightmare is simply carelessness and ignorance. If a responsibility is to be taken, it is to be taken seriously and looked into depth before acceptance of the task. Only then can we avoid problems in the future.