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FLORIDA - A conservation group in Southwest Florida has set a new seasonal record by removing an astonishing 6 300 lbs of Burmese pythons during the recent reproductive period.
Between November and April, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida recovered 6 300 pounds of the non native snakes, the highest total recorded in a single season.
Since 2013, the team has eliminated over 40 000 pounds of pythons, more than 20 tons, from a 200 square mile area stretching from Naples into the Western Everglades.
Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist managing the program, explained that dedicated research and field work have helped refine their tracking system using radio tagged male snakes sometimes called scout snakes.
These scout snakes guide biologists to reproductive female snakes, and the strategy has also helped prevent nearly 20 000 python eggs from hatching since 2013.
The Conservancy also holds records for seizing the largest pythons documented in Florida, a female measuring 18 ft and weighing 215 lbs and a male at 16 ft and 140 lbs.
Conservation outlets report that Burmese pythons can consume entire deer or alligators due to their capacity to swallow prey exceeding their own body mass.
Burmese pythons became established in Florida in the 1990s through escaped or abandoned pets and now threaten native wildlife.
The species has been linked to sharp declines in mammals like rabbits raccoons bobcats and possums throughout the Everglades region.
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida initiative remains one of the most effective invasive python control efforts globally.