That’s giant, as in the size of the pythons the state wants hunters to kill. And giant in quantity, too, because the whole reason for the event is to slay as many of these invasive pests as possible. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is officially after the Burmese python, which has been a threat to the Everglades ecosystem ever since owners of the exotic “pets” started to let them loose in the wild, causing a dramatic decline of raccoons, bobcats, and other mammals. The hazard is that they can grow to 18 feet in length and have no known natural predator in the Everglades. They are both poisonous and constrictors and anyone chasing the cash prizes of $1,500 for the most pythons killed and $1,000 for the longest python offed needs to take a 30-minute course on the dangers the snakes pose. (Only 30 minutes? That’s Florida for you.) By the way, there are also cobras loose in Florida and they aren’t friendly, either, so pay close attention during that video, kids. Via Scientific American.

Read more stories like this at Adventure Journal.

Tags: environmentsetc

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2012 at 9:00 am and is filed under Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.