Burmese Python Invasion
The Florida Everglades are infested with Burmese pythons. To keep them from spreading, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is making it illegal to import the pythons into the country, or transport them across state lines. Scientists have discovered the pythons are doing more damage than ever imagined.
Burmese Pythons have been slithering around south Florida for over a decade, but scientists now say that they are eating their way through the swamps. Areas where there are an increasing amount of pythons, there are a decreasing amount of other species, such as raccoons and opossums.
According to the United States Geological Survey, Burmese pythons are moving up the east coast and beginning to invade other states. However, the United States Association of Reptile Keepers consider the python invasion to purely be an Everglades problem.
Fast Facts:
- Type:
- Reptile
- Diet:
- Carnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 20 to 25 years
- Size:
- 16 to 23 ft (5 to 7 m)
- Weight:
- Up to 200 lbs (90 kg)
- Protection status:
- Threatened
- Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
Growth of Burmese Pythons in the Everglades
Burmese Python Migration
View Who let the snakes out!? in a larger map
Leave a Reply