INVASIVE SPECIES: Burmese pythons, an invasive species in south Florida, could spread to one third of United States
Irresponsible pet owners have released Burmese pythons into the Floridian landscape. These snakes are now considered an invasive species and may spread to other areas of the United States. Furthermore, climate change may encourage these large snakes to spread even further north. More on Florida’s Burmese python problem can be found here and here.
Current areas of the U.S. suitable as Burmese python habitat:
Projected areas of the U.S. suitable as Burmese python during 2100 based on global warming models:
Burmese python facts via the SFGate:
Size: They can grow to 250 pounds and stretch over 23 feet.
Popular pets: They’re often released into the wild by irresponsible owners.
Lifestyle: When young, the pythons spend much of their time in trees. In adulthood, their weight makes tree-climbing too difficult.
Food: They survive on small mammals and birds but have been known to eat deer and alligators.
Eggs: They lay up to 100 at a time.
On the Net: New threat to our way of life: giant pythons
Just some information from Okeechobee Florida: On July 30, 2009 a Burmese Python was found near The Okeechobee Veterinary Clinic on Rt. 70 West. A male, 17ft 2in, weight 200 pounds. This is the third large snake I can remember being found in this area.
damn that sucks they are qettinq everywhere like takinq over !!
this is so wronqq i hate these snakes they are killinq our animals at the Everqlades we shouldprtotest aqainst this !
LOL at this bull crap. Global woarming is a proven scam. These snakes are not even going to be able to survive anywhere but florida. Seriously whoever wrote this is extremely ignorant, uneducated, and stupid. Burms are great pets, and great snakes. Seriously Global Warming LOL Dont make me laugh.
Guess what Steve, you’re wrong. I live in north Fl and it gets below freezing in the winter but that hasn’t killed them off here. Plus they have found viable clutches of eggs that hatched in NORTH CAROLINA, which isn’t in Fl in case you didn’t know.
It’s the fault of humans, not snakes. These snakes don’t really realize they’re not in their natural habitat anymore. They’ve been abducted and taken care of, then abandoned. I understand there’s a big problem locally and that the ecosystem is affected (that’s my field of expertise by the way) but if you should whine about something, whine about the humans bringing them here just because they think these snakes are cool pets. Now the only solution the wildlife experts have is to exterminate the snakes like it was their fault that they’re in the US instead of Asia. How fair is that for innocent animals? Whenever people act, they should think beforehand. There are lots of non-indigenous animals in the southern States, such as lions and tigers that clearly don’t belong there, even if they’re “cute”. There should be a lot more regulation concerning non-indigenous species in the US. That’s the only way the ecosystem won’t be messed up and humans not attacked. The animals just follow their genetic make-up, they don’t have a conscience like we do. It’s thus our responsibility.
I have a Ball, and I would NEVER throw her out in the wild if I got tired of her! I agree that it is the fault of the humans, not the snakes. People don’t do enough research and don’t take responsibility. But is it surprising when we see the number of unwanted cats, dogs, horses, KIDS in this country?
This is fairly poor science. These snakes come from tropical areas in SE Asia. While we may see summers that mirror conditions seen in their native habitat, winter conditions will kill them off in most of the range shown in this map. Even this past winter, many of them died in Florida during the rather short freeze. This is merely an attempt to villainize the animals in order to gain popular support for their eradication. I have spent much time in SE Asia, and one never finds these far from water. To place their range throughout Texas, Arizona, and California, is irresponsible. I am all for controlling the spread of invasive species when they seriously threaten biodiversity, but lets not falsify statistics and use fear tactics to accomplish an end. Global warming is far from proven, but it isn’t disproven either. Global climate change is a more apt term, and is leagues from the “bullcrap” Steve claims it to be. Also, burms do not always make great pets, many never tame down well. They can be dangerous, although pets acclimated to people pose far more of a threat than wild ones. I know many Thai herpetologists, and not one of them has heard of a burm related fatality. More often then not, they are kept in tiny inadequate cages in poor conditions for their whole lives by selfish people who, frankly, have no business keeping them. Finally, no viable clutch was ever found in North Carolina, lets not invent things to try and prove a point.