Burmese Python Part 1

             Of all the invasive species in the world, one that I found especially intriguing was the Burmese Python. I wanted to learn more about it the moment I saw that this huge reptile could eat alligators. Also, the reptile VS reptile fight seemed pretty interesting.

The Burmese Python, already one of the largest snakes in the world, can easily grow up to five meters in Southern Florida. Although these pythons are interesting, I shake about the thought of meeting an agitated or hungry one that could quickly snap me in half and consume me. The python is tan in color, with dark puzzle-like blotches, similar to a giraffe’s. Its head is a typical snake shape, wide at the neck and tapering to form a rough triangle, ending at the nose. With jaw structures that can be disconnected, this python can fit any animal into its mouth that is about five times the length of its head.

    The Burmese Python’s natural habitats are the semi-aquatic areas of India, lower China, the East Indies, and the Malay Peninsula. Being a good climber and swimmer, this type of python is able to hunt for a variety of prey, making it a formidable hunter.

    Every invasive species in the world is caused by a small mistake. A citizen of Southern Florida bought a small Burmese Python as a pet. After about two years, the python had grown so much that its master thought it took up too much space. So he released the gigantic snake into the wild, thinking that it wouldn’t do any harm to the environment. But that one snake survived and probably found another python, probably displaced from a conservatory after a hurricane, and mated. Since then, Burmese Pythons have reproduced madly, setting a deep anchor in South Florida’s Everglades. Since the marshy environment is similar to its original home, there was no real need for these pythons to adapt, making it even easier for them to survive.

    The main problem of almost every invasive species is the same. They offset the delicate balance of the environment, and cause extinction in some cases. It is the same with the Burmese Python. Because of their big size and great agility, along with the huge mouth, these fearsome reptiles eat almost anything, such as a variety of birds and mammals, and even alligators. Burmese Pythons have been caught eating endangered Key Largo wood rats and grasshopper sparrows. As a foreign species, no large predator has moved to Southern Florida that has the ability to take on the job of controlling the number of pythons yet. Even the alligators have trouble with these pythons, suffering casualties among the young and inexperienced, and sometimes even the adult ones. Apart from humans and adult alligators, the Burmese Python is invincible.

    Environmentalists, scientists, and local park rangers are hard at work to control the number of Burmese Pythons. Like the lionfish issue, the pythons have such a stronghold in Southern Florida that destroying all the snakes is Mission Impossible.

Some things that the people have been doing are limiting the import of Burmese Pythons as household pets. There have also been human and dog search teams responsible for tracking down and killing Burmese Pythons. Another not-so-successful idea was trapping. But since pythons do not move around extensively, trapping was not as useful. Another idea that was considered was the use of gas specifically targeting Burmese Pythons as a biological control. The action was not performed, because the risk of killing other endangered species was too high. Having python catching contests didn’t prove too successful. As cunning reptiles, pythons are hard to catch. A month-long contest of 1,600 participants only resulted in 68 pythons caught. Hunting Burmese Pythons for food was also not a great idea, unless some crazy person wants to be poisoned by high amounts of mercury, as most high-level predators, including pythons, have a preponderance of this element in their bodies.

               So far, there has been no overly successful way of controlling the number of Burmese

 Pythons. But we humans are intelligent creatures, and I believe that we will find a solution some day

in the near future.