Jake Valerie (right) poses with a python and one of his fellow snake hunters. Photo: Conservancy of Southwest Florida
Burmese pythons, one of the largest snake species in the world, are an introduced species in the US and have become a serious problem in the wild areas of Florida, where they prey on native animals, from raccoons and opossums to white-tailed deer and even alligators . According to the US Geological Survey, they have caused «serious declines» in several native species.
They are also reported to compete for prey with the endangered Florida panther, one of the rarest big cats. in the world. Only a tiny remnant population survives in Everglades National Park.
It is legal to trap and kill Burmese pythons, which have no natural predators in Florida. Groups of volunteers are regularly sent out into the wilderness to capture, remove and humanely kill them.
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