Florida’s Giant Pythons Are Disappearing — And Scientists Found What’s Hunting Them

For forty years, the Burmese python has had nothing to fear in the Florida Everglades. Fourteen thousand snakes removed. Millions of dollars spent. Hundreds of trained hunters in the field. And the population has never once gone down. Then researchers started finding pythons dead on the ground — full-grown, uneaten, and missing their heads. This is the story of what the Everglades started doing on its own, without a budget, without a plan, and without anyone watching. Three native species. Three behaviors never before recorded in the scientific literature. And a shift that nobody organized. If you've ever driven a park road in South Florida and wondered why the shoulders are empty, this one is for you. ━━━━ SOURCES Currylow, A. et al. "Someone's got to bring home the bacon: Bobcat depredation of a Burmese python nest." Ecology and Evolution (2022). Trail camera documentation from Big Cypress National Preserve, June 2021. U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center — python nest monitoring, South Florida. Conservancy of Southwest Florida — scout snake radio-telemetry program. Ian Bartoszek and Ian Easterling, lead biologists. Dorcas, M. et al. "Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park." PNAS (2012). Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — Python Elimination Program removal figures. National Park Service — Everglades National Park invasive species records. ━━━━ MUSIC 'Within Our Nature' by Scott Buckley — released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au