Florida Python Hunt: ‘Python Challenge’ Underway, Snakes Wanted Dead Or Alive

The Florida python hunt is once again underway in South Florida. This is the second python hunt in the Florida wetlands since 2013. Organizers of Florida’s “Python Challenge” say snakes are wanted dead or alive.

Burmese pythons aren’t necessarily native to southern Florida. But since the 1980s, the python population in the lower third of Florida has grown exponentially. The Burmese python originates from Southeast Asia, but sightings of one of the largest snake species in the world are now well over 300 annually since 2008 in Florida’s Everglades region. Pythons are thought to have been introduced into Florida by pet owners who took on more than they could care for and released them into the wild.

To help raise awareness about the threat of the carnivorous snake in Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission started a python hunt in 2013. This first state-sponsored python hunt, also known as the “Python Challenge,” brought out over 1,600 hunters who captured 68 pythons in the months of January and February.

Big money awarded to teams and individuals who captured the most pythons attracted a large crowd of hunters three years ago to Florida. A similar money pot is offered this year, with team hunters receiving $5,000 and individual hunters receiving $3,500 for the most pythons caught, either dead or alive. There’s even a separate cash award offered up for the largest snake caught during the one-month Florida python hunt, ranging from $1,000 all the way up to $3,000.

Python hunter Jim Sweeney said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel that he is participating in the 2016 “Python Challenge” to help remove the Burmese pythons that are really causing a lot of environmental damage to the native wildlife.

“We hope to find a few and get rid of them and get in the hunt for the big money.”

This year’s Florida python hunt began on Saturday, January 16, right around noon. Just like in 2013, the 2016 python hunt will continue on into February, ending on Valentine’s Day Sunday, February 14, at around 7 p.m. Rules are that hunters can only catch pythons with their hands. The 2016 “Python Challenge” website states that contestants must register online, complete online training, and stay within designated hunting areas within southern Florida.

Only several hundred hunters have signed up so far this year to hunt pythons during Florida’s “Python Challenge.” According to researchers, tens of thousands of Burmese pythons now call the Everglades home, with just over 600 hunters to capture them. NPR reports that even though the population is huge, pythons are hard to catch and even harder to find.

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Bill Booth, a veteran python hunter, said it took seven days during Florida’s last python hunt for his team to even find a snake, and then they came in second place. Booth went on to say that National Geographic actually let one of their captured pythons get away.

“We got six snakes, and one got away. We were being followed by National Geographic and they were filming a show. And they actually borrowed the snake from us to reenact one of the other hunters. And they came back and said the snake got away. So, we wanted to kill them,” laughed Booth.

Booth, who took one month off for this year’s python hunt, said that python sightings were scarce in 2013 but wildlife native to the area was even scarcer, saying they’re just not around anymore. In fact, declines in the number of mammal species native to the Everglades, including rabbits, otters, birds, and even crocodiles, have coincided with the increasing population of pythons over the years.

As many as 300,000 pythons occupy southern Florida. The United States even banned Burmese pythons from entering the country in 2012, but the already existing population continues to grow. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hopes the Florida python hunt will help to manage python reproduction and help to raise awareness to the threat that pythons pose to the Everglades, even though they say the 68 pythons caught in 2013 really did nothing to thin out the pythons.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a Huffington Post Miami report in 2013 that there wouldn’t be another Florida python hunt following the first one, saying the state would instead train licensed hunters to work in southern Florida to keep the invasive pythons under control on a regular basis.

First-time hunters, like Howard and Diana Hudson out of Ohio who hunt pythons for fun, are just happy that the FWC had a change of heart and decided to host another Florida python hunt this year.

“We’re going to enjoy ourselves and have a good time,” said Howard Hudson, even if they don’t catch anything.

[Photo by Getty Images/Joe Raedle]