Python Hunt in Florida

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If Fl was really serious about getting rid of pythons and other non native species, the state would put a bounty of say $50. on each one. Otherwise I don't think there is enough encentive what, with the cost of gas and other expenses for this program to have much effect.
 
The state biologists can't find the pythons unless they've been implanted with a transmitter. I saw a TV show where the transmitter was buzzing like crazy and they said they were within 10 feet of one but couldn't find it in the heavy growth.

And they expect us to find them??? And do their work for them.
 
There have never been any restrictions if you find a python on your land or on land where you have permission to be. The restrictions have been on state land. Granted, my personal opinion is that the state wildlife folks are overly restrictive.
 
south beach should make an effort to push "python" purses, boots, belts, etc... that will drive demand and price up.....then the good old boys have that much more incentive to rid FL of those buggers. Never did see one myself and quite thankful.
 
I'd need an explanation about the levee thing. Shooting downward is pretty much a lot safer than shooting at any other angle, seems to me.

So here we go, hunting an introduced feral harmful species, a "varmint" and we face this worry:

"The central nervous system of a python (and all reptiles) is tolerant to low oxygen and low blood pressure conditions (AVMA 2007) and so the brain of a python can remain active for up to an hour even after decapitation, thus allowing the snake to experience pain (Barten 1994). Because the goal is to minimize the snake’s suffering, the brain should be quickly destroyed."

While I am quite happy to kill one of these doofers ASAP, I can't say that I'd worry about whether or not it felt pain.

What kind of music would a snake like? Maybe they want you to have a loudspeaker on your iPod, to play soothing sounds while you hunt and then decapitate that sucker?
 
Snakes Don't Have

ears, but might sense big low frequency vibrations.
Wonder if there is a scent that might attract them
 
Most levees are actually elevated roads and the only way to get around above water. Therefore shooting from a levee is a safety factor to keep a person or vehicle from getting shot. Any public hunting place in Fla. that I've been on that has levees has rules against shooting from them.
 
Like the man said, put a bounty of their hides and make it attractive enough and just let nature take it's course. I know in La they have a bounty on nutrias. I don't know about shooting from a levy, but if I'm shooting a python I'll probably have a 12ga. with bb shot or no. 4 buckshot so I don't see any problem with richotets.
 
As most have figured out this first "python hunt" is a lot more about politics than anything else. I work in Everglades National Park when I'm guiding and have seen a few of the pythons. The real problem with them is what you're not seeing. Since 2005 the swamp rabbit population down in the Park near the only roadway has gone to zero (there's only one road into the Park and from the front gate to Flamingo... that 38 mile stretch always had lots of little rabbits at dusk and dawn.... viewing them while towing my skiff down the road was a daily event for me since my first trip down there in the early seventies...). That road used to have a terrible roadkill problem - not anymore... I can't remember the last racoon or possum carcass on the roadway, all you see now are reptile or bird remains. Pythons are literally changing the ecology of any area that they're present in. I can only imagine what's happening to the predator population. Bobcats, foxes, hawks, etc must be having a hard time of it, and now the darned pythons are beginning to migrate to where there's more food (they've been found down in the Keys and I'm certain they're quietly spreading northward as well...). When I first noticed that the rabbits had disappeared I went to a Park biologist to ask about it and all I got was a shrug.... I couldn't even find out the name of someone that might be interested in looking into it. Wish it weren't so.

In short what's needed is a year 'round bounty program for every specimen brought in and the Park (all 90 miles by 90 miles of it) needs to participate. Of course the Park will resist any such thing since it goes against everything they believe in (but that's another story). Hunting the critters will be terribly difficult given where they live.... but during winter cold spells they'd be much, much easier to find on sunny afternoons. On cold days I think all you'd need is a large machete and a big gunny sack to do a bit of snake harvesting... Unfortunately I'm betting that we'll still be talking about this five years from now....
 
Eons ago I lived in Florida--in one of my other lives :)--and have kept at least a casual eye out for what goes on there. I'd read about the loss of "snake food" in the Glades.

Is there much noise from the "We Love Snakes!" people?
 
Eons ago I lived in Florida--in one of my other lives :)--and have kept at least a casual eye out for what goes on there. I'd read about the loss of "snake food" in the Glades.

Is there much noise from the "We Love Snakes!" people?
Most people don't believe it but there is a big contingent of reptile lovers who don't want all these controls on pythons. My son-in-law is non-vocal about it but he loves reptiles. He has a bearded dragon and tries to catch and play with snakes whenever he can. Yet, he is terrified of spiders. Go figure??
 
Art, we've had much the same experience with deer levels since the coyote population began to spike..........particularly in the Ocala area. Once it was common to jump multiple deer....six to eight in a bunch.....since the yodel dog invasion, coupled with the over protected black bear population, one rarely see's more than one, perhaps two at a time.

Now the yodel'lers are an invasive species, brought in by fox hunters. the bear issue is one that fall's squarely on the back of the FWC folks.....they've refused to deal with it and minimize conflict issues at every turn. I rather suppose that the approach you're seeing relative to the super sized mobile sausage population in the Glades will be handled in the same adroit fashion!
 
Reptile lovers have begun to lower their profile a bit down here in south florida... One too many big snakes have been found with someone's family pet inside. By and large most folks don't think much about them at all until the news media finds something sensational to report.

Like I said before, the real damage these snakes are causing is to the local wildlife population. They're busy eating themselves into migrating.. literally.

By the way anyone that thinks the FWC can be a bit difficult should try dealing with the national park service... Those folks have rules for their rules and never seem to be in a hurry over much of anything... I have to purchase an annual guide's permit for the 'Glades each year and I try to limit my involvement to only that.
 
There actually has been one fatality here in Florida involving an infant and a python.... but that one, up in central Florida involved a family pet that got out of its cage... Can't cite the particulars but remember that the pet owner had some serious legal difficulties over it.
 
There actually has been one fatality here in Florida involving an infant and a python.... but that one, up in central Florida involved a family pet that got out of its cage... Can't cite the particulars but remember that the pet owner had some serious legal difficulties over it.
In that case the two parents were both convicted and sentenced for child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter. The father was sentenced to jail and the mother is on probation. It happened in the county I live in.

The pet albino python got out of the fish tank they had it in with only a blanket covering the top. Authorities believe that it wrapped around the child (about 2 yrs. old I believe) to keep warm but maybe for food too. The little girl was bitten and strangled.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/burmese-python-kills-young-girl-in-sumter-county/nFC4z/
 
I'm a reptile lover but I'll destroy any introduced reptile I see if I'm out in the scrub.

I won't kill any of our native reptiles and even our most venomous will flee if they aren't crowded.

Here in Australia we aren't allowed to own ANY exotic reptiles AT ALL.
Not Corns, Ball Pythons or Boa's and there are massive fines attached to being caught with exotic reptiles in your possession.

The best time to find those sorts of pythons is when the females come into estrous because males will be attracted to the female and they form a vast ball as the males try to dislodge the successful male for a chance to breed.
There can be up to 10 or more males wrapped around a single female in breeding mass.
 
The present cool weather will keep the snakes in-doors while the "hunters" get some much needed exercise out-doors.
 
I watched about 2 minutes of a tv show on the month-long Python hunt with a $5k prize. They were interviewing the expert, the first guy licensed, etc., etc.

He estimated that these 800 hunters won't get a total of 25 pythons in a month.

John
 
I was watching a program on cable about the snake problem in Florida. They were showing a anaconda that had been tagged with a radio transmitter . This was an adult female and it almost got them! It was a much bigger snake than the pythons . I would think there would be a much better &bigger program to get rid of these snakes! The eco system & the potential loss in livestock not to mention the danger to people! Put a real bounty on them & in today's economy they might at least control their spreading across the whole S.E. USA!
 
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