Yahoo Autos 'Resilient' Python Invasion in Florida Could Be 'Impossible' to Stop, U.S Officials Say
The U.S. Geological Survey found that the invasive Burmese python population in Florida has expanded from a small area near Everglades National Park to the bottom third of the Sunshine State
A recent paper produced by the U.S. Geological Survey claims the "eradication of pythons in southern Florida is likely impossible" following the invasive species' rapid spread across the state.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the authors of the paper analyzed 250 research initiatives from over three decades about the snake species' presence in Florida to write "Burmese pythons in Florida: A synthesis of biology, impacts, and management tools," which was published in January.
The paper found that the first Burmese python sightings in the wild in Florida were recorded in the 1970s around the state's swampy Everglades National Park (ENP). For years, the random python spottings that popped up in the area were written off as "individual escapes or releases" until the 1990s and 2000s, "when confirmation of a reproducing [python] population in ENP prompted their recognition as an established invasive species."
"In the four decades since the first individual was recorded, the python population has grown and spread, consuming native wildlife and altering the food web in the Everglades," the U.S. Geological Survey paper stated.
Maps shared by the South Florida Sun Sentinel show the impressive size of the Burmese python's spread across southern Florida. The red area on the 2000 map shows where there were reported python removals from 1995 to 2000, according to the outlet, and is contained to the southern tip of Everglades National Park. The 2021 map shows how far the Burmese python "invasion front" has traveled in just 20 years. The snakes — native to southeast Asia — now appear as far north as Broward and Palm Beach counties and are reaching toward Fort Meyers and Lake Okeechobee.
