Burmese Python (continued)

               The invasion of the Burmese Python is now a gigantic worry for the federal government, and the citizens of Florida. Many ideas have been proposed and disputed. The two main points of view are whether to kill the pythons or capture them.

              After a search team has captured a python, what actions should they take? Should they kill it, or bring it back to animal centers for lab tests and maybe return it to its native habitat? The “killers” argue that killing the pythons on the spot would save a lot of time and  money in transportation. As for bringing them back for lab tests, “killers” say that scientists already have more than enough Burmese Pythons for testing. Capturing the snakes and killing them allows the search teams to track down and dispose of more pythons in a day. Without a heavy load of pythons, the teams can move and search more quickly. But even with these arguments, the action taken by most teams is still capturing, instead of killing.

              “Capturers” have a strong stand of their own. They say it wasn’t the Burmese Pythons’ fault for escaping into the wild; they were just trying to survive. So these people think that it is the right thing to capture them, and bring them back where they belong. The “capturers” maintain that although these predators should be stopped, bloodshed should be avoided, for these reptiles are just innocent animals surviving in the environment. Also, if there were bloodshed, other predators or scavengers could be attracted to the scene. That definitely would not help the search teams.

               Some of the ideas that crossed my mind regarding the control of the Burmese Python population included inventing robotic machines that could work day and night to capture and deliver pythons. These robots could be programmed to sense Burmese Pythons with their acute computers. They definitely would work faster than humans, because they have no need to sleep or eat, and don’t get tired. But after a couple seconds, I knew that idea was impossible with the technology we have right now.

Another idea that came to mind was getting rid of  the pythons’ eggs. As Burmese Pythons are able to lay up to 50 eggs at a time, the reproduction rate is a huge factor of the snakes’ growing population. By getting rid of the pythons at the base is probably a good idea. But after more thought, I became pretty sure that the idea had already been put into action.

              But one idea appealed to me: introducing a new species to balance out the whole food chain. Environmentalists and scientists could go to Asia to find species there that are able to keep the number of Burmese Pythons low. Perhaps the species they find can become prey to the alligators of Florida. That way, the new food chain would be complete, with the new species controlling the pythons, and alligators controlling the new species.

             Something that I only recently learned about invasive species was that all these were started by something small: Burmese Python pets released, or a storm that freed a couple of misplaced 20-inch-long pythons. All these things were small, yet after 20 or 30 years, this instability in the environment that could cause extinction is the result.

           The experience of writing this article taught me how fragile the environment is, and how small actions can have huge consequences. The environment is delicate, so treat it delicately.