The Florida Python Challenge

After I saw the Florida Python Challenge video clip with Florida’s Senator (Democrat) Bill Nelson video I thought about making some snaky snarky comments about python entitlement benefits but the truth is that Burmese pythons (probably released as pet rejects) are taking over the Everglades and wreaking havoc with the natural order in its ecosystem. Global warming can’t be blamed for the python’s survival success because even in very cold weather the pythons have shown remarkable adaptability and survived.

As the mother of some South Georgia boa constrictor (and a few various rat snakes) owners I can safely say that the boa is a force to be reckoned with, at least the one my sons had as a pet was. He had a habit of escaping his confines and working his way behind various books on the shelf causing the books to be dislodged. Some of those books became chew toys for our dog, Maggie, who as a puppy was the most destructive chewer we ever owned. Boas, however, differ from pythons in that they give birth to live young, anywhere from 10 to 40 at a time, and pythons lay eggs, as many as 20 to 80 in a clutch with an occasional 100 in some clutches. Both pythons and boas are constrictors rather than venomous which just means they strike their prey and squeeze it to kill it before swallowing. Unless you are their prey most constrictors are not aggressive.

The Florida Python Challenge sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is a Burmese python hunting contest that kicked off on January 12^th this year and runs through February 10^th. It challenges hunters to round up and kill the invasive Burmese python. 1000 amateurs have signed up but only 27 snakes have been killed. It appears to me that the Burmese python is showing a remarkable ability to avoid hunters. Grand prizes of $1,500 for harvesting the most Burmese pythons will be awarded to winners of both the General Competition and the Python Permit Holders Competition, with additional $1,000 prizes for the longest Burmese python harvested in both competitions. Funding for the prizes is provided by Python Challenge™ sponsors. The largest Burmese python ever documented in Florida was more than 17 feet in length.

Fortunately for me, the boa my sons had would have maxed out at a length of only 10 feet, and I was sure glad when they traded it in for some geckos.