7-Foot-Wide Pile of Pythons Caught 'Getting Busy' in Florida
Invasive Burmese pythons were busted near Naples, Florida having some sort of filthy, adult, personal, private mating time when Florida wildlife experts discovered a 500 pound, seven foot pile of these snakes doing the nasty.
These hoodlum snakes don't even live there and have disrupted Florida's ecosystem! No but for real, can you imagine coming across a 500 pound, seven foot pile of snakes getting busy and consider it a good thing like these conservations did?
According to the Facebook post, "Conservancy Biologist Ian Bartoszek says, “For 10 years, we’ve been catching and putting them [Burmese pythons] down humanely. You can’t put them in zoos and send them back to Southeast Asia. Invasive species management doesn’t end with rainbows and kittens. These are remarkable creatures, here through no fault of their own. They are impressive animals, good at what they do.”
Related: 12-Year-Old Australian Girl Takes on Massive Snake to Save Her Guinea Pig
The Miami Herald explains, "Since 2013, the conservancy has put trackers in 110 pythons and followed their movements across southwest Florida. Much has been discovered about python behavior, including the size of their territories, the habitats they choose and the ability for the animals to group up together during the breeding season. It became clear the implanted males could be weaponized to track down the females, and that led to a shift in the program’s goals."
The team tracks, captures and bags the snakes and then puts them down humanely. Through early 2024, the conservancy has removed more than 1,300 pythons from a 150-square-mile area near Naples, most of them caught through the tracking program. That’s the equivalent of 35,000 pounds of snake, or more than 17 tons.
That's a whole lot of snake.
Why Invasive Pythons Needs To Be Captured
The US Geological Survey explains why invasive pythons have impacted Florida's ecosystems. Pythons compete with native wildlife for food, which includes mammals, birds, and other reptiles. A 2012 study found that populations of raccoons had declined 99.3 percent, opossums 98.9 percent, and bobcats 87.5 percent since 1997.
Burmese pythons are some of the largest snakes in the world. They can reach up to 16 feet in length and weigh 200 pounds or more. The lady snakes weigh more than the boys!
These snakes can swallow prey whole, even if it's larger than their heads. That may explain why so many bobcats have gone missing.
It's also important to note that it wasn't just one snake pile getting all lovey dovey, because Wildlife experts discovered two balls of Burmese pythons mating on the same day.
I guess it's just the season of love for these snakes!
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