Invasive Pythons Put Squeeze On Everglades' Animals : NPR Invasive Pythons Put Squeeze On Everglades' Animals Embed Embed Invasive Pythons Put Squeeze On Everglades' Animals Invasive Pythons Put Squeeze On Everglades' Animals Embed Embed Twitter Joseph Wasilewski, a wildlife biologist, captures a wild python on the side of the Tamiami Trail road that cuts through the Florida Everglades on Sept. 16, 2009. The number of invasive pythons in the Everglades has exploded since the 1990s. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images Scientists are reporting that aliens are wiping out the animals in Florida's Everglades. The aliens are Burmese pythons from Asia. They've been slithering around south Florida for decades. But scientists now say the constrictors are so bad, they're eating their way through the swamps. And the federal government has decided to take action to prevent their spread. One scientist who has been trying to find out just how bad the invasion has become is Michael Dorcas. He's been catching snakes since he was a child in Texas.

But he says a 15-foot Burmese python is a handful ... or two. "You typically try to grab them behind the head," he says, and "get somebody else to grab the back end of them. But often they still defecate all over you, even if they can't bite you, so it's always an unpleasant thing when you catch a wild python." Dorcas is now a biologist at Davidson College in North Carolina. For the past eight years, besides catching pythons, he has been driving through the Everglades counting animals — specifically, midsize mammals. Article continues after sponsorship Dorcas wanted to know how big a bite the pythons are taking out of the mammal population. When he compared the number of mammals now with the 1990s, when pythons were less common, he was shocked. "Once we calculated the percentages, we had no idea they were going to be this dramatic." How dramatic? "A 99.3 percent decrease in raccoon observations," he reports.

"Decreases of 98.9 percent in possums, 94 percent white-tailed deer, 87.5 percent in bobcats." Pythons Removed From The Everglades The chart below shows the number of pythons removed from the park and neighboring areas between 1995 and 2010. Researchers say the slight decrease in the number of pythons captured in 2010 might be the result of a severe freeze in January of that year. Source: Michael Dorcas/Davidson University Nearly all the raccoons, possums, deer and bobcats gone. Now, counting animals by sight from a car isn't foolproof, but it is an accepted practice in wildlife research. Dorcas reports his findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He says it's the first study to actually quantify the effect of the pythons' appetite in the Everglades. A Python Invasion He blames pythons because in areas known to be thickest with the snake, the mammals are scarcer. Where there are fewer pythons, there are more mammals. And there's no evidence that a disease is to blame, either.

Furthermore, mammals and birds (the latter are also common snacks for pythons, as necropsies have revealed) often gather near water, where pythons like to feed. And Dorcas points out that snakes big enough to eat a good-sized raccoon haven't lived in Florida for millions of years. So "local" animals are "naive." The onset of the python invasion is often blamed on snake owners who release their pets when they get too big for comfort. Lawyer Marshall Meyers represents the pet industry and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. He says maybe some pet owners do that, but he also cites a report that a hurricane overwhelmed a snake breeding site in Florida that could have spread the snakes. And while pythons are no doubt eating mammals, it's more complicated than that. "I think it's habitat loss," Meyers says, and the fact that there's less fresh water in the Everglades now, which could reduce wildlife numbers. But he acknowledges that the python invaders and other exotic animals that escape or are released by owners give the pet trade a bad name.

"They're species that are not in this country, that we do not want in this country, because if they came in through pet trade or through the zoos, they can cause a lot of environmental harm, and that's just a big black eye," he says. Enlarge this image Unlike this alligator, many animals native to the Everglades didn't evolve to take on a giant python. As a result, the snakes have become top predators in the environment, decimating populations of raccoons, opossums and other mammals. Lori Oberhofer/National Park Service hide caption toggle caption Lori Oberhofer/National Park Service Unlike this alligator, many animals native to the Everglades didn't evolve to take on a giant python. As a result, the snakes have become top predators in the environment, decimating populations of raccoons, opossums and other mammals. Lori Oberhofer/National Park Service A Ban On Importing Pythons The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been watching the python explosion and is taking action. On Jan. 17, the agency made it illegal to import Burmese pythons or transport them across state lines.

That includes three other constrictor species from Africa and South America: the yellow anaconda and the northern and southern African pythons. Biologist Susan Jewell, with the service, studies injurious species that invade the U.S. — things like zebra mussels and poisonous lionfish. She says it's possible Florida's pythons could spread if they learn how to survive in colder weather. "I think that it's a good heads-up for everybody," Jewell says. "This can happen anywhere — and most likely will if these snakes get established." Jewell says invasive species sometimes thrive in new places where they don't have natural enemies. "It just shows what we don't know about species when they get taken out of their native range and taken to a new area," she says. Jewell says the import ban won't help the Everglades — it's too late there. It's meant to keep pythons and other constrictors from spreading. The Fish and Wildlife Service's research suggests that they could live almost anywhere in the Southern U.S. The ban allows people who now own these snakes to keep them, and you can still buy and sell them within a state or export them overseas.

Jewell emphasizes that the new rule doesn't mean anyone has to give up his snake. Invasive Burmese pythons shown to be reducing marsh rabbit population in Everglades Invasive Burmese pythons shown to be reducing marsh rabbit population in Everglades March 18, 2015 by Bob Yirka report Marsh Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris) at Green Cay wetlands, Delray Beach, Florida. Credit: Tomfriedel/birdphotos.com, Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 (Phys.org)—A small team of researchers working in the Florida Everglades, with affiliations to several institutions in the state, has found that an invasive species of snake, the Burmese python, appears to be responsible for a drastic decline in marsh rabbit populations in the park. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the team describes how they placed rabbits in a section of the park and monitored how they were killed to finger the culprit. Marsh rabbits are native to the Everglades, and like most rabbits reproduce at a very high rate (approximately six litters each year, with each litter having multiple young).

Because of that, scientists have been skeptical about a single predator being capable of dramatically reducing their numbers. But still, something has, of that there has been no doubt. Marsh rabbits are very nearly disappearing from some areas—many have blamed the Burmese python, a large snake that has been in the news a lot of late due to the many problems it has created for animals and humans alike in south Florida. In this new effort, the researchers sought to learn whether the blame for the rabbit decline could be attributed solely to the arrival of the pythons. The researchers released 80 marsh rabbits into two different parts of the park—in parts known to be heavily populated by pythons and in parts where no pythons were living. By retrieving the carcasses of dead rabbits over a nine month period, the researchers were able to determine what killed them. In the areas where there were no pythons, other predators proved to be the primary killer.

But in areas where there were a lot of pythons, they found that the snakes accounted for approximately two thirds of those that were killed, which the researchers note, is not sustainable over a long period of time—that means at the current rate, the pythons are going to eliminate marsh rabbits (and possibly other animals) entirely from the park. The researchers conclude that Burmese pythons are a serious threat to the ecosystem in the park and that the threat will likely spread as the snake extends its range. More information: Marsh rabbit mortalities tie pythons to the precipitous decline of mammals in the everglades, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.0120 Abstract To address the ongoing debate over the impact of invasive species on native terrestrial wildlife, we conducted a large-scale experiment to test the hypothesis that invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) were a cause of the precipitous decline of mammals in Everglades National Park (ENP).

Evidence linking pythons to mammal declines has been indirect and there are reasons to question whether pythons, or any predator, could have caused the precipitous declines seen across a range of mammalian functional groups. Experimentally manipulating marsh rabbits, we found that pythons accounted for 77% of rabbit mortalities within nine months of their translocation to ENP and that python predation appeared to preclude the persistence of rabbit populations in ENP. On control sites, outside of the park, no rabbits were killed by pythons and 71% of attributable marsh rabbit mortalities were classified as mammal predations. Burmese pythons pose a serious threat to the faunal communities and ecological functioning of the Greater Everglades Ecosystems that will likely spread as python populations expand their range A sneaky snake: Teams hunt for rock pythons in Everglades January 29, 2015 For all the danger posed to Florida's Everglades by invasive Burmese pythons, there's one thing researchers don't want to know: how they would interact with another python species that threatens to move into the same territory.

Python hunt in Everglades nets just 68: organizers February 17, 2013 Hundreds of hunters spent a month combing Florida's Everglades for Burmese pythons, in the end capturing and killing 68 of the slithery, invasive reptiles, organizers said. Python's homing trick stuns scientists March 19, 2014 The Burmese python has a built-in compass that allows it to slither home in a near-straight line even if released dozens of kilometres away, researchers said Wednesday. Pythons apparently wiping out Everglades mammals January 30, 2012 A burgeoning population of huge pythons - many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big - appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, ...

Burmese pythons pose little risk to people in Everglades February 28, 2014 The estimated tens of thousands of Burmese pythons now populating the Everglades present a low risk to people in the park, according to a new assessment by U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service scientists. US bans import of Burmese pythons January 17, 2012 The United States announced Tuesday it is banning the import of Burmese pythons and three other species of giant constrictor snakes due to the danger they pose to local wildlife. Recommended for you Finally, an explanation of strange African 'fairy circles'? January 18, 2017 The forces behind the mysterious "fairy circles" that dot a desert in southern Africa do not appear to be supernatural, but they are intricate and complex. New study examines how China maintains large catches and what it means for fishery management elsewhere January 18, 2017 China, the world's largest seafood producer, has done something extraordinary. For the past 20 years, despite minimal management and some of the most intense industrial fishing in the world, it has maintained large catches ...

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What humans and primates both know when it comes to numbers January 18, 2017 For the past several years, Jessica Cantlon has been working to understand how humans develop the concept of numbers, from simple counting to complex mathematical reasoning. Early in her career at the University of Rochester, ... Invasive pythons are decimating the Everglades’ rabbit population - Salon.com Thursday, Mar 19, 2015 8:31 PM UTC Invasive pythons are decimating the Everglades’ rabbit population "Every one [of the rabbits] we are saying was eaten by a python, we found inside a python" (Credit: lunatic67/Shutterstock ) A team of conservation biologists captured a bunch adult marsh rabbits, outfitted them with radio transmitters, then released them back into the wilds of Everglades National Park. Eleven months later, 77 percent were dead — the victims of python attacks. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made for science.

The rabbits were part of a new study , published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, attempting to quantify just how much the Burmese python, an invasive species introduced in the 1990s, is to blame for the collapse of the Everglades’ small mammal populations. The answer, it would seem, is: a devastatingly huge one. It’s long been suspected that Burmese pythons are having population-level impacts on the Everglades’ mammal populations — between 2003 and 2011, for example, sightings of raccoons and opossums there decline by a full 99 percent. But still, it seemed almost unbelievable that pythons alone could be responsible for such a profound decline. “All of us were shocked by the results. Rabbit populations are supposed to be regulated by factors other than predation, like drought, disease,” study co-author Bob Reed, chief of the invasive branch of the United States Geological Society, told CBS News . “They are so fecund. They are supposed to be hugely resilient to predation.” The results of the brutal experiment leave little room for doubt as to who’s to blame.

“Every one [of the rabbits] we are saying was eaten by a python, we found inside a python,” study author Robert A. McCleery, of the University of Florida, said. “It wasn’t like, ‘I wonder what ate this.’ You are looking for your rabbit and you find a python. The radio collar was transmitting from inside the python.” From there, they say, it can be assumed that other observed mammal declines are the result of python predation as well. The loss of the mammals, the authors write, is “probably causing a massive rearrangement of the Everglades’ food web, losses in ecosystem function, and complex and unpredictable cascading effects.” Only with the recovery of the mammal populations, they warn, “will it be possible to restore the health and functionality of this World Heritage Site.” It’s unclear what we can do about this: our usual methods for culling invasive species, like trapping them or using dogs to hunt them, are difficult to carry out in such an inaccessible area. We don’t even have a good idea of how many pythons there are. And reintroducing more mammals to the Everglades, as this study sadly shows, is unlikely to be effective.

Yet “without effective tools and a strategy for reducing the prevalence of these invasive snakes,” the authors conclude, “the dire state of mammals in the Everglades will probably remain unchanged, and even spread if python populations expand northward or become established elsewhere in the USA.” Lindsay Abrams is a staff writer at Salon, reporting on all things sustainable. Follow her on Twitter @readingirl, email labrams@salon.com. Invasive Species - National Wildlife Federation Invasive Species Connecting... Invasive Species "Invasive species" — it doesn’t sound very threatening, does it? But these invaders, large and small, have devastating effects on U.S. wildlife. Invasive species are one of the leading threats to native wildlife. Approximately 42% of Threatened or Endangered species are at risk primarily due to invasive species. Human health and economies are also at risk from invasive species. The impacts of invasive species on our natural ecosystems and economy cost billions of dollars each year. Many of our commercial, agricultural, and recreational activities depend on healthy native ecosystems. What makes a species invasive?

An invasive species can be any kind of living organism—an amphibian (like the cane toad pictured left), plant, insect, fish, fungus, bacteria, or even an organism’s seeds or eggs—that is not native to an ecosystem and which causes harm. They can harm the environment, the economy or even, human health. Species that grow and reproduce quickly, and spread aggressively, with potential to cause harm, are given the label of “invasive”. An invasive species does not have to come from another country. For example, lake trout are native to the Great Lakes, but are considered to be an invasive species in Yellowstone Lake in Wyoming because they compete with native cutthroat trout for habitat. How do invasive species spread? Invasive species are primarily spread by human activities, often unintentionally. People, and the goods we use, travel around the world very quickly, and they often carry uninvited species with them. Ships: Ships can carry aquatic organisms in their ballast water. Wood products: Insects can get into wood, shipping palettes and crates that are shipped around the world. Ornamental plants: Some ornamental plants can escape into the wild and become invasive. Pet trade: Some invasive species are intentionally or accidentally released pets.

Burmese pythons are becoming a big problem in the Everglades. Why do invasive species pose such a threat? Invasive species cause harm to wildlife in many ways. When a new and aggressive species is introduced into an ecosystem, it might not have any natural predators or controls. It can breed and spread quickly, taking over an area. Native wildlife may not have evolved defenses against the invader or they cannot compete with a species that has no predators. The direct threats of invasive species: preying on native species preventing native species from reproducing or killing their young The indirect threats of invasive species: Changing food webs: Invasive species can change the food web in an ecosystem by destroying or replacing native food sources. The invasive species may provide little to no food value for wildlife. Decreasing biodiversity: Invasive species can alter the abundance or diversity of species that are important habitat for native wildlife. Aggressive plant species like kudzu can quickly replace a diverse ecosystem with a monoculture of just kudzu. Altering ecosystem conditions: Some invasive species are capable of changing the conditions in an ecosystem, such as changing soil chemistry or the intensity of wildfires. Examples of invasive species There are unfortunately many examples of invasive species invasions across the United States.

Here are just a few: Asian carp —a catchall title for species of silver, bighead and black carp from Asia—are a fast- growing fish that out-compete native fish for food and habitat. Brown marmorated stink bugs have become an increasing nuisance in homes and to the agriculture industry. Away from their natural predators, stink bug populations are expanding rapidly. West Nile virus, spread by mosquitoes infected with the virus, is an invasive pathogen that has caused direct harm to humans (sometimes resulting in death) as well as to wildlife (especially birds). It has been detected throughout most of the continental United States. Cogongrass is an Asian plant that arrived in the U.S. as seeds in packing material. It is now spreading through the Southeast, displacing native plants. It provides no food value for native wildlife, and increases the threat of wildfire as it burns hotter and faster than native grasses. Feral pigs will eat almost anything, including native birds. They compete with native wildlife for food sources such as acorns. Feral pigs spread diseases, such as brucellosis, to people and livestock. E. coli from their feces was implicated in the E. coli contamination of baby spinach in 2006.

Zebra mussels first came to the U.S. from Eurasia in ship ballast water released into the Great Lakes. Since 1988, they have spread dramatically, out-competing native species for food and habitat. Zebra mussels can attach to almost any hard surface - they clog water intake and discharge pipes, attach themselves to boat hulls and docks, and they even attach to native mussels and crayfish. European green crabs found their way into the San Francisco Bay area in 1989. They out-compete native species for food and habitat and eat huge quantities of native shellfish, threatening commercial fisheries. Dutch elm disease (caused by the fungus Ophiostoma ulmi) is transmitted to trees by elm bark beetles. Since 1930, the disease has spread from Ohio through most of the country, killing over half of the elm trees in the northern U.S. Water hyacinth is a beautiful aquatic plant, introduced to the U.S. from South America as an ornamental. In the wild, it forms dense mats, reducing sunlight for submerged plants and aquatic organisms, crowding out native aquatic plants and clogging waterways and intake pipes.

Invasive species and global warming Higher average temperatures and changes in rain and snow patterns caused by global warming will enable some invasive plant species—such as garlic mustard, kudzu and purple loosestrife—to move into new areas. Insect pest infestations will be more severe as pests such as mountain pine beetle are able to take advantage of drought-weakened plants. What you can do to help curb the spread of invasive species Plant native plants and remove any invasive plants in your garden. There are many good native plant alternatives to common exotic ornamental plants. Learn to identify invasive species in your area. Report any sightings to your county extension agent or local land manager. Learn more about invasive species in your state . Regularly clean your boots, gear, boat, tires and any other equipment you use outdoors to remove insects and plant parts that may spread invasive species to new places. When camping, buy firewood near your campsite (within 30 miles) instead of bringing your own from home, and leave any extra for the next campers. Invertebrates and plants can easily hitch a ride on firewood you haul to or from a campsite -- you could inadvertently introduce an invasive to a new area.

Invasive Pythons Put Squeeze On Everglades' Animals | KALW Invasive Pythons Put Squeeze On Everglades' Animals By Christopher Joyce • Jan 30, 2012 Nonnative pythons, like this one, are invading the Florida Everglades. As a top predator, the snakes have crippled the populations of rabbits, raccoons and other animals. Joe Raedle / Getty Images Joseph Wasilewski, a wildlife biologist, captures a wild python on the side of the Tamiami Trail road that cuts through the Florida Everglades on Sept. 16, 2009. The number of invasive pythons in the Everglades has exploded since the 1990s. Joe Raedle / Getty Images Unlike this alligator, many animals native to the Everglades didn't evolve to take on a giant python. As a result, the snakes have become top predators in the environment, decimating populations of raccoons, opossums and other mammals.

Lori Oberhofer / National Park Service Listen Originally published on January 30, 2012 9:02 pm Scientists are reporting that aliens are wiping out the animals in Florida's Everglades. The aliens are Burmese pythons from Asia. They've been slithering around south Florida for decades. But scientists now say the constrictors are so bad, they're eating their way through the swamps. And the federal government has decided to take action to prevent their spread. One scientist who has been trying to find out just how bad the invasion has become is Michael Dorcas. He's been catching snakes since he was a child in Texas. But he says a 15-foot Burmese python is a handful ... or two. "You typically try to grab them behind the head," he says, and "get somebody else to grab the back end of them. But often they still defecate all over you, even if they can't bite you, so it's always an unpleasant thing when you catch a wild python." Dorcas is now a biologist at Davidson College in North Carolina.

For the past eight years, besides catching pythons, he has been driving through the Everglades counting animals — specifically, midsize mammals. Dorcas wanted to know how big a bite the pythons are taking out of the mammal population. When he compared the number of mammals now with the 1990s, when pythons were less common, he was shocked. "Once we calculated the percentages, we had no idea they were going to be this dramatic." How dramatic? "A 99.3 percent decrease in raccoon observations," he reports. "Decreases of 98.9 percent in possums, 94 percent white-tailed deer, 87.5 percent in bobcats." Nearly all the raccoons, possums, deer and bobcats gone. Now, counting animals by sight from a car isn't foolproof, but it is an accepted practice in wildlife research. Dorcas reports his findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He says it's the first study to actually quantify the effect of the pythons' appetite in the Everglades.

A Python Invasion He blames pythons because in areas known to be thickest with the snake, the mammals are scarcer. Where there are fewer pythons, there are more mammals. And there's no evidence that a disease is to blame, either. Furthermore, mammals and birds (the latter are also common snacks for pythons, as necropsies have revealed) often gather near water, where pythons like to feed. And Dorcas points out that snakes big enough to eat a good-sized raccoon haven't lived in Florida for millions of years. So "local" animals are "naive." The onset of the python invasion is often blamed on snake owners who release their pets when they get too big for comfort. Lawyer Marshall Meyers represents the pet industry and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. He says maybe some pet owners do that, but he also cites a report that a hurricane overwhelmed a snake breeding site in Florida that could have spread the snakes. And while pythons are no doubt eating mammals, it's more complicated than that. "I think it's habitat loss," Meyers says, and the fact that there's less fresh water in the Everglades now, which could reduce wildlife numbers.

But he acknowledges that the python invaders and other exotic animals that escape or are released by owners give the pet trade a bad name. "They're species that are not in this country, that we do not want in this country, because if they came in through pet trade or through the zoos, they can cause a lot of environmental harm, and that's just a big black eye," he says. A Ban On Importing Pythons The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been watching the python explosion and is taking action. On Jan. 17, the agency made it illegal to import Burmese pythons or transport them across state lines. That includes three other constrictor species from Africa and South America: the yellow anaconda and the northern and southern African pythons. Biologist Susan Jewell, with the service, studies injurious species that invade the U.S. — things like zebra mussels and poisonous lionfish. She says it's possible Florida's pythons could spread if they learn how to survive in colder weather. "I think that it's a good heads-up for everybody," Jewell says.

"This can happen anywhere — and most likely will if these snakes get established." Jewell says invasive species sometimes thrive in new places where they don't have natural enemies. "It just shows what we don't know about species when they get taken out of their native range and taken to a new area," she says. Jewell says the import ban won't help the Everglades — it's too late there. It's meant to keep pythons and other constrictors from spreading. The Fish and Wildlife Service's research suggests that they could live almost anywhere in the Southern U.S. The ban allows people who now own these snakes to keep them, and you can still buy and sell them within a state or export them overseas. Jewell emphasizes that the new rule doesn't mean anyone has to give up his snake. Copyright 2013 NPR.

To see more, visit Transcript Invasive pythons hatching throughout southwest Florida | Fox News Invasive pythons hatching throughout southwest Florida Published July 15, 2014 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Email Print FILE 2013: A previously captured 13-foot Burmese python is taken out of a bag for a press to viewing in the Everglades, Florida. (Reuters) NAPLES, Fla. – Wildlife experts say Burmese python eggs are hatching throughout southwest Florida, and they're asking the public to report any sightings of the invasive snakes. Pythons have been blamed for dramatic drops in the populations of native mammals in Florida's Everglades. They've also been known to kill and eat large alligators. Ian Bartoszek of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida tells WINK-TV that python hatchlings can already be 2 feet long when they emerge from their eggs, and they'll cross roads in search of food and water. Bartoszek is asking people to report any python sightings to the state's invasive species hotline, 1-888-IVE-GOT1 or . He says experts are trying to document how pythons are expanding their range.

Little is known about pythons' movements in their native habitat in Asia. A Burmese python in Davie, Fla., in 2012 Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images Even as new residents come flooding into Florida every day, so do other things, and by that I mean invasive species. Florida has more invasives than any other state. We're talking walking catfish , Asian swamp eels , Cuban tree frogs , Argentine tegus —it's quite a motley menagerie. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve got a little Statue of Liberty at the state line that says, “Give me your slimy, your slippery, your sticky masses, yearning to breed free … ” Some of Florida’s invasives have been here a long time—for instance, the monkeys that live in Silver River State Park, near the Silver Springs tourist attraction. The captain of Silver Springs' Jungle Cruise put them on a small island in the river in the 1930s to spice up the ride for tourists. He thought the monkeys would stay on the island. He didn't realize they could swim.

One of them wandered over to the Tampa Bay area a few years ago to become the celebrated “ Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay .” The island community of Boca Grande has been so plagued by iguanas —voracious little Godzillas that can grow to be 6 feet long from snout to tail—that county commissioners levied a special “iguana tax” to pay for trapping them. * Advertisement The big name in Florida invasives is, of course, the Burmese python, which has done such a fine job of taking over the Everglades that it has wiped out all the rabbits, raccoons, foxes, and other small mammals that used to live there. You may have heard we had a big state-sponsored python hunt recently. It didn’t put much of a dent in the population. Not even the alligators can do more than stall the pythons’ takeover. So far, the most effective killer of pythons in the Everglades is a 61-year-old great-grandfather with a shotgun . He says he can smell the snakes when they're nearby.

Nearly all of these invasives have a similar origin story—bought by a collector then escaped or turned loose because it got too big or too nasty. But there’s one invasive species in Florida with an origin story that blows the others away. I’m talking about the giant African land snail , sometimes known as the GALS for short. Yes, that’s right, a snail. Not just any snail, though. GALS grow to 8 inches long, and their reproductive potential is stunning. Each snail contains both female and male reproductive organs, and every mated adult lays about 1,200 eggs each year. As of June 22, state officials say they have captured and killed more than 124,000 of the GALS from around Miami. And the snails are about as destructive as a Looney Tunes Tasmanian devil set on super slow-mo. Advertisement How big a pest are they? They will gobble up at least 500 different types of plants, but that’s not all. They also can cause structural damage to plaster and stucco by chewing on houses.

Oh yeah, and they can carry a parasitic nematode that can lead to meningitis in humans. So you wouldn’t want to mess with them, would you? But somebody did, and that’s where the story takes a particularly Floridian turn. Florida authorities believe they were smuggled into Miami by followers of a religious cult based on the traditional African religion Ifa Orisha. One follower flew from Africa to Miami with the snails hidden under her dress, according to police. Authorities said the cult leader, Charles Stewart, persuaded his followers to drink the snails' mucus as part of a “healing ritual.” As a result, one newspaper noted dryly, “several practitioners became violently ill.” Stewart blamed the uproar over the snails on jealousy from Miami’s many occult Santeria practitioners. "What I practice is somewhat different,” he said, “and that's what caused the backlash against me." Correction, July 8, 2013: This article originally described Boca Grande as an island. It is a village on Gasparilla Island.

( Return to the corrected sentence.) Pythons Blamed For Everglade's Disappearing Animals : NPR Pythons Blamed For Everglade's Disappearing Animals Embed Embed Pythons Blamed For Everglade's Disappearing Animals Pythons Blamed For Everglade's Disappearing Animals Embed Embed Twitter The Florida Everglades is 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. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: Florida has a snake problem. The Everglades is infested with Burmese pythons. To keep them from spreading, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is making it illegal to import the pythons into the U.S., or transport the snakes across state lines. Now scientists have discovered that the pythons are doing more damage than they ever imagined. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports on pythons gone wild.

CHRISTOPHER JOYCE, BYLINE: Go to YouTube and type in Florida pythons and you can spend hours watching these giants slithering, hatching, and most especially, eating. For these imports from Asia, Florida is the big easy. Biologist Michael Dorcas explains: MICHAEL DORCAS: There really hasn't been snakes large enough to eat things like possums and raccoons in Florida for, you know, literally millions of years. And so the prey species, such as a raccoon or a rabbit or a possum, may not perceive a python as a predator. JOYCE: They call them naive because they just don't know enough to run away. Just how naive became clear after Dorcas drove thousands of miles through the Everglades, counting mammals. Compared to the 1990s, well over 90 percent of the raccoons, possums, white-tailed deer, and bobcats in the Everglades are now gone. Dorcas, a snake expert from Davidson College in North Carolina, says there's no evidence that disease did them in. He blames the pythons. Other biologists agree. Susan Jewell of the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service says some invasive species take over when they find a new place. SUSAN JEWELL: Certain ones have all the right characteristics that make them the perfect invasive species. They have all the right stuff. Super species. JOYCE: Burmese pythons fit that category. They eat everything, they like water, and they can live a year without eating. And Jewell says their potential range is huge. JEWELL: It's basically the southern third of the United States and our island territories. And that's pretty enlightening. JOYCE: That's one reason the Fish and Wildlife Service, this month, made it illegal to import Burmese pythons and three other species of constrictors. Starting next March, you can't transport them across state lines either. You can still own them, however, or buy and sell them within a state. Pet owners take a lot of blame here, for letting pythons loose when they get too big. Marshall Meyers, with the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, says that may or may not be true. But, he says, the ban is overkill.

MARSHALL MEYERS: I think for those people that are dealing in the Burmese python, it's going to have some significant financial impact. JOYCE: Meyers says the government should, instead, set up a permit system to allow inter-state trade. And also to make sure people who buy the snakes know what they're in for. Meyers says, increasingly, people do not. MEYERS: A significant number of the reptiles today are traded over the Internet or at reptile shows. These are not going through traditional bricks and mortar type pet stores, where they have care sheets they give out, they explain the information about the animals. JOYCE: In any case, it's too late for the Everglades. Dorcas and Jewell say there's no clear way to get rid of the pythons. And they're likely to get hardier over time. As for the damage, Dorcas says it's never good to lose a big chunk of the animals in any habitat. DORCAS: Any time you have, you know, a large percentage of your mammals that suffer severe declines like this, it's pretty safe to assume there's going to be some major ecosystem impacts.

JOYCE: Dorcas published his research in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Christopher Joyce, NPR News. Copyright © 2012 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc. , an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Invasive Pythons Put Squeeze On Everglades' Animals Invasive Pythons Put Squeeze On Everglades' Animals Embed Embed Twitter Joseph Wasilewski, a wildlife biologist, captures a wild python on the side of the Tamiami Trail road that cuts through the Florida Everglades on Sept. 16, 2009. The number of invasive pythons in the Everglades has exploded since the 1990s. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images Scientists are reporting that aliens are wiping out the animals in Florida's Everglades.

The aliens are Burmese pythons from Asia. They've been slithering around south Florida for decades. But scientists now say the constrictors are so bad, they're eating their way through the swamps. And the federal government has decided to take action to prevent their spread. One scientist who has been trying to find out just how bad the invasion has become is Michael Dorcas. He's been catching snakes since he was a child in Texas. But he says a 15-foot Burmese python is a handful ... or two. "You typically try to grab them behind the head," he says, and "get somebody else to grab the back end of them. But often they still defecate all over you, even if they can't bite you, so it's always an unpleasant thing when you catch a wild python." Dorcas is now a biologist at Davidson College in North Carolina. For the past eight years, besides catching pythons, he has been driving through the Everglades counting animals — specifically, midsize mammals. Dorcas wanted to know how big a bite the pythons are taking out of the mammal population.

When he compared the number of mammals now with the 1990s, when pythons were less common, he was shocked. "Once we calculated the percentages, we had no idea they were going to be this dramatic." How dramatic? "A 99.3 percent decrease in raccoon observations," he reports. "Decreases of 98.9 percent in possums, 94 percent white-tailed deer, 87.5 percent in bobcats." Pythons Removed From The Everglades The chart below shows the number of pythons removed from the park and neighboring areas between 1995 and 2010. Researchers say the slight decrease in the number of pythons captured in 2010 might be the result of a severe freeze in January of that year. Source: Michael Dorcas/Davidson University Nearly all the raccoons, possums, deer and bobcats gone. Now, counting animals by sight from a car isn't foolproof, but it is an accepted practice in wildlife research. Dorcas reports his findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

He says it's the first study to actually quantify the effect of the pythons' appetite in the Everglades. A Python Invasion He blames pythons because in areas known to be thickest with the snake, the mammals are scarcer. Where there are fewer pythons, there are more mammals. And there's no evidence that a disease is to blame, either. Furthermore, mammals and birds (the latter are also common snacks for pythons, as necropsies have revealed) often gather near water, where pythons like to feed. And Dorcas points out that snakes big enough to eat a good-sized raccoon haven't lived in Florida for millions of years. So "local" animals are "naive." The onset of the python invasion is often blamed on snake owners who release their pets when they get too big for comfort. Lawyer Marshall Meyers represents the pet industry and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. He says maybe some pet owners do that, but he also cites a report that a hurricane overwhelmed a snake breeding site in Florida that could have spread the snakes. And while pythons are no doubt eating mammals, it's more complicated than that.

"I think it's habitat loss," Meyers says, and the fact that there's less fresh water in the Everglades now, which could reduce wildlife numbers. But he acknowledges that the python invaders and other exotic animals that escape or are released by owners give the pet trade a bad name. "They're species that are not in this country, that we do not want in this country, because if they came in through pet trade or through the zoos, they can cause a lot of environmental harm, and that's just a big black eye," he says. Enlarge this image Unlike this alligator, many animals native to the Everglades didn't evolve to take on a giant python. As a result, the snakes have become top predators in the environment, decimating populations of raccoons, opossums and other mammals. Lori Oberhofer/National Park Service hide caption toggle caption Lori Oberhofer/National Park Service Unlike this alligator, many animals native to the Everglades didn't evolve to take on a giant python. As a result, the snakes have become top predators in the environment, decimating populations of raccoons, opossums and other mammals.

Lori Oberhofer/National Park Service A Ban On Importing Pythons The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been watching the python explosion and is taking action. On Jan. 17, the agency made it illegal to import Burmese pythons or transport them across state lines. That includes three other constrictor species from Africa and South America: the yellow anaconda and the northern and southern African pythons. Biologist Susan Jewell, with the service, studies injurious species that invade the U.S. — things like zebra mussels and poisonous lionfish. She says it's possible Florida's pythons could spread if they learn how to survive in colder weather. "I think that it's a good heads-up for everybody," Jewell says. "This can happen anywhere — and most likely will if these snakes get established." Jewell says invasive species sometimes thrive in new places where they don't have natural enemies. "It just shows what we don't know about species when they get taken out of their native range and taken to a new area," she says. Jewell says the import ban won't help the Everglades — it's too late there.

It's meant to keep pythons and other constrictors from spreading. The Fish and Wildlife Service's research suggests that they could live almost anywhere in the Southern U.S. The ban allows people who now own these snakes to keep them, and you can still buy and sell them within a state or export them overseas. Jewell emphasizes that the new rule doesn't mean anyone has to give up his snake. Stopping a Burmese Python Invasion | The Nature Conservancy Stopping a Burmese Python Invasion Like us on Facebook Story Highlights As the state takes over and expands the Python Patrol, the Conservancy will press for stronger legislation against the sale and ownership of potentially invasive pets such as the Argentine tegu lizard. Karine Aigner & Ken Geiger Think you've seen a Burmese python or another invasive reptile? Report it using the free IveGot1 app, online at IveGot1.org or, if the animal is in front you right now, by calling 1-888-IVEGOT1. The first Burmese python found in the wilds of the Everglades was in 1979.

Once household pets, they had either escaped or were released, and today, after years of breeding, the mainland around Everglades National Park contains tens of thousands of the snakes… which can feast on rare and endangered species. Birth of Python Patrol While pythons aren’t known to attack people, they are indiscriminate eaters. They have been known to eat a wide range of wildlife from tiny songbirds to adult deer and alligators up to 6 feet long. Read Nature Conservancy magazine's story, Python Patrol , about the wildlife workers and volunteers who battle this invasive species. Finding an invasive python in the wild is difficult, which is why you need a volunteer army. Read the TIME Cover Story. Did you know invasive species, like the Burmese python, cost $100 billion in damages in the U.S. alone? MSNBC’s Morning Joe Reports. See a slideshow of rare species that have been found in a python's stomach . The first Keys python was discovered alive in 2007 when researchers checking on the status of a male Key Largo woodrat wearing a radio transmitter noticed it strangely had moved more than a mile from its original documented habitat. The signal led the two researchers — a University of St.

Andrews graduate student and a volunteer assistant studying federally endangered Key Largo woodrats — to a 7-1/2-foot Burmese python sunning itself. The contents of the captured snake’s stomach included not only the collared woodrat but another one as well. To help solve the issue, The Nature Conservancy in Florida launched Python Patrol in the Florida Keys in 2008 and, with the help of Everglades National Park, expanded the effort to the mainland in 2010. One of the over 400 responders trained by the Conservancy can deal directly with the situation by safely and humanely capturing and removing pythons or other exotic constrictors they encounter. Citizens can learn how to identify pythons and other non-native animals at an in-person detector training or online . Anyone can call in snake sightings (1-888-IVE-GOT-1) to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which now coordinates Python Patrol, and a trained responder can be dispatched.

“We encourage anyone who sees a python or other non-native animal to take a photo from a safe distance and report it on our hotline, the free IveGot1 app or at IveGot1.org,” says Cheryl Millett, the Conservancy biologist who transferred Python Patrol to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in December 2013. “Early-detection, rapid-response is the best way to stop them from spreading,” says Millett, adding, “even if the idea of getting your hands on a python gives you the heebie-jeebies, you can be part of the solution by learning how to spot them, calling it in if you see one, and helping us remove them.” To help the Conservancy’s efforts, click here to donate today . Interesting fact: Burmese python hatchlings are 18” long and the longest one captured in south Florida was 18’8”. In a Marathon Race with a Python, You’d Win Burmese pythons are ambush predators with great camouflage, so they spend lots of time hiding in wait and then expend a lot of energy in a short burst to surprise capture their prey. Python Patrol responders can use python’s lack of endurance to help make capturing them easier.

During training, responders are taught how they can pull an escaping python back by the tail repeatedly to let the snake expend a lot of energy. When the snake is tired, the capturer firmly grabs at the base of the head and avoids the writhing body getting wrapped around his or her legs. Snakes captured in the wild are securely bagged, boxed, tagged and dropped off to a designated recipient for research or training. “We ask the responders to consider safety first and then work to tire out the snake before they capture it. Luckily these pythons tire very quickly,” Millett says. Remember: Always call a trained responder and NEVER try this at home. It's in the Numbers Twenty five different bird species, including the endangered wood stork, have been found in the digestive tracts of pythons in Everglades National Park, according to a March 2010 study.

In January 2012, a severe decline in a variety of mammal populations in the Everglades over the last eight years was documented in a report released by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences called Severe Mammal Declines Coincide with Proliferation of Invasive Burmese Pythons in Everglades National Park. Researchers correlated pythons with the dramatic declines in mammal numbers and noted other potential causes, like disease, are unlikely since so many species showed decline. To reach a full-grown length of about 13 feet, one python would need to eat nearly 200 pounds of food over five years. Some captured Florida snakes have grown as large over 18 feet. Policy of Prevention The Conservancy has long called for a more preventative and proactive approach to address the threat of invasive species. “Right now imported species are innocent until proven guilty,” says Kris Serbesoff-King, the Conservancy’s associate director of conservation.

“As a nation, we need to focus on pre-importation screening – that is to say looking at what will likely be a small number of non-native imported wildlife that could go on to be harmful to the lands and waters we are working to protect.” The Conservancy has been working on the policy end since 2006, starting with support for the South Florida Water Management District’s petition to list the Burmese python as a federal injurious species. In 2010, the Florida Legislature adopted a Conservancy-backed measure prohibiting personal possession of seven large constrictors and one large monitor lizard, formerly designated “reptiles of concern.” These eight reptiles, including the Burmese python, are now classified as conditional species; people who owned these reptiles before the law went into effect and followed state permitting, microchipping and caging requirements were allowed to keep the reptiles they already owned. To help the Conservancy’s efforts, click here to donate today . Next Stop: Washington D.C.? At the federal level, the Conservancy has supported efforts by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to advance legislation banning the importation and interstate commerce of the Burmese python. The U.S.

enacted that ban January 17, 2012 on four snakes: the Burmese python, the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern African python. This step — to include these species in the prohibitions of the federal Lacey Act used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prevent and manage invasive species — is needed to reduce the number of pythons escaping from or being released into the wild by pet owners who don't understand the responsibility caring for a large python entails. “Their native habitat compares well to the Gulf region of the southern United States,” adds Serbesoff-King. The Conservancy has strongly backed efforts to introduce a comprehensive approach that would proactively restrict trade in animals predicted to be highly invasive — before they become established. The Conservancy supports federal legislation to institute a preventive approach – give the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authority to assess risks associated with imported wildlife and prohibit the importation of species likely to be invasive in the United States. Prevention is always the most cost effective and efficient approach to addressing invasive species,” says Serbesoff-King.

“It protects our native plants and animals and saves money by avoiding costly and difficult control efforts.” It would alleviate the need for a petition-by-petition listing of injurious species — a process that takes an average of four years.“ What Can You Do? • Become familiar with distinguishing invasive from native reptiles. Free online REDDy training is available through the University of Florida and offers a certificate at end of the 40-minute free training, plus ID and reporting handouts. • Report an invasive species sighting at I-888-I’veGot1, or the free “IveGot1” apps for iPhone or Android, that were developed by the University of Georgia.

Question: What invasive species has been blamed for reducing mammal populations in the Everglades?
Answer: Burmese Python