Wildlife

Python Capture Patrols Set Up in Infested South Florida, USA

Florida wildlife officials are asking for volunteers to help control the population of invasive Burmese pythons, which have now spread across the state to the point that it’s impossible to eradicate them.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will hold monthly sessions to train the general public on how to identify and even capture the troublesome snakes.

But not everyone thinks the civilian python patrols are a good idea.

“This is ridiculous,” University of Florida senior herpetologist Kenneth Krysko told Reuters. “You can’t have Joe Schmo grabbing these snakes.”

He told the news agency that civilian patrols are likely to be ineffective in reducing the python population.

The snakes became the leading predator in Florida’s ecologically sensitive Everglades after some were released as unwanted pets or managed to escape into the wild on their own.

It’s believed that there are now about 150,000 Burmese pythons living in the southern half of the state.