Florida man hailed for snagging 8-foot python in the Everglades, then fined $180

After he says he stopped an invasive python from heading back into the Everglades, a Florida man ended up with a fine.

What happened?

Yatir Nitzany, 42, said he was biking in Everglades National Park when he noticed an 8-foot Burmese python along the roadside, according to the Daily Mail. In a Facebook post, he wrote: "The python had a visible bulge a third of the way down its body, indicating it had just killed and swallowed another animal."

Nitzany said he drew on prior snake-handling experience to restrain the python so it would not slip back into the park, where it could continue preying on native animals. Others at the scene reportedly snapped photos and recorded video as he held the snake for roughly 30 minutes before a ranger arrived.

After the ranger arrived, Nitzany was issued a $180 wildlife-handling citation for not having a permit in the federally managed park. 

Nitzany later went to court on June 12 with support from Ron Magill, a wildlife advocate, and Michael Rosenberg, president of Pets' Trust Miami. He said the case was dropped about 10 minutes before his hearing because the citation had been "improperly written."

Why does it matter?

In South Florida, Burmese pythons are considered one of the most damaging invasive animals. The snakes are nonvenomous and generally pose a low direct risk to humans, but they are a major threat to birds, mammals, and other native wildlife in the Everglades.

Nitzany underscored that concern in his post, writing: "One python can lay 50 eggs, and those pythons 50 more eggs as the process continues." That rapid reproduction is one reason officials and researchers have spent years trying to control the population.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida's python research team has been removing Burmese pythons from the region since 2013. During the latest breeding season, from November 2025 to April 2026, the team captured 177 pythons.

What's being done?

Florida and federal agencies are already working to reduce python numbers. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rules let people in South Florida remove and humanely kill Burmese pythons year-round without a hunting license or permit, though regulations are stricter inside national parks, which is why Nitzany was issued the ticket.

Everglades National Park also supports organized removal efforts, with the state's 2026 Python Challenge set for July as a regulated way for people to help manage invasive species.

Magill said he is now trying to change federal rules so others are not penalized in similar situations. He reportedly has begun contacting lawmakers about narrow exceptions without, as he put it, "open[ing] Pandora's box" to unregulated python hunting in the Everglades.

"My action saved thousands of natural wildlife animals," Nitzany wrote. Magill added: "People who responsibly help protect our native ecosystems from invasive species should not have to choose between doing the right thing and being punished for it."

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