A hunter is drawing attention online after sharing a hard-won invasive-species catch of a Burmese python.
What happened?
Posted to r/Hunting, the original poster shared photos showing himself alongside the Burmese python he had captured.
These snakes are among the state's most notorious invasive animals, and the hunter presented the catch as the payoff after multiple failed attempts.
"Finally after 3 tries, I got myself a python," OP wrote.
"Get em all brother," one commenter encouraged.
One curious commenter asked about financial incentives for controlling this invasive species population. "Are these economically useful?" they asked. "People do make leather products out of them like belts and hat bands and some places sell their jerky," OP responded.
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Another commenter asked, "How do you hunt these?"
"We go from island to island in the Everglades and see if we can find them," OP answered. "Then we grab them and take them out. Having a snake sniffing dog helps too.
"Awesome work," another added.
Why does it matter?
Burmese pythons have become a major environmental problem in Florida, where they prey on wildlife and disrupt food webs that native species depend on.
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These snakes are widely understood to have spread in Florida because of human activity, including the exotic pet trade and releases or escapes years ago.
People created the conditions for a powerful nonnative predator to establish itself, and now residents, wildlife managers, and hunters are dealing with the consequences.
When invasive predators devastate native wildlife, they can affect ecosystems that support recreation, tourism, and restoration work in the Everglades.
Florida runs programs to remove Burmese pythons from the Everglades because the species is not native there and can damage Everglades wildlife.
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