By the end of the year, they're seven feet long. By the end of two years, they're 10 feet long. And that's more snake than anyone can handle. |
I say apparently because the tail and hind limbs of the dead alligator were protruding from a hole in the mid-body of the dead python. |
In their native land, pythons hang around wading bird rookeries. Our wading bird populations have declined because of insults we've done to their environment, and here we're throwing another insult at them. We're trying to restore their populations, but this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. |
It could be literally thousands. It could be a number I don't want to know. It could be scary. |
It's against the law, it's bad for the animal and for native wildlife. If you no longer want the animal, find an alternative, |
People pay as low as $20 per hatchling not realizing how big they grow. In just two to three years, these snakes can grow to be at least 9 feet, so it's a significant commitment |
That raised a red flag: Do we have a problem? Have people released enough pythons that they're breeding here? |
The stomach of the python still surrounded the head, shoulders, and forelimbs of the alligator. |
They are pets or descendants of former pets. They don't occur naturally here. |
They aren't known to hunt people, but they are known to kill people. |
We are concerned. They are competing with other animals for food, space, burrows, crevices and rocks. |
We can probably see control. |