Invading giant snakes threaten U.S wilderness areas

[Canadian-guerilla]

Invading giant snakes threaten U.S wilderness areas

MIAMI (Reuters) - Burmese pythons and other giant snakes imported as pets could endanger some of America's most important parks and wilderness areas if they are allowed to multiply, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Wildlife experts say the Burmese python is distributed across thousands of square miles (kilometers) in south Florida. There could be tens of thousands in the Everglades, a wildlife refuge that is home to the Florida panther and other endangered species.

The Burmese python and four other non-native snakes -- boa constrictors, yellow anacondas, northern and southern African pythons -- are considered "high-risk" threats to the health of U.S. ecosystems because they eat native birds and animals, the U.S. Geological Survey report said.

Two species, the boa constrictor and Burmese python, have already established breeding populations in south Florida and experts have found "strong evidence" that the northern African python may be breeding in the wild as well.

Four other snakes, the reticulated python, green anaconda, Beni anaconda and Deschauensee's anaconda, are considered "medium-risk" but are still potentially serious threats, the USGS report said.

Florida wildlife officials say the Everglades wetland is a dumping ground for pet owners who find their snakes too large to handle when they mature. They eat birds, reptiles, rodents and other small mammals and are considered a major threat to endangered species like the wood stork and Key Largo woodrat.


GIANT SNAKES

"This report clearly reveals that these giant snakes threaten to destabilize some of our most precious ecosystems and parks, primarily through predation on vulnerable native species," Robert Reed, a USGS invasive species scientist, said in a statement.

The snakes are among the largest in the world. Three of the nine species can reach lengths of 20 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds (90 kg), the report said.

The reticulated python is the world's longest snake and the green anaconda is the heaviest, the scientists said, and both have been found in south Florida, although it was not certain if they are breeding.

Some of the snakes, including the boa constrictor and northern African python, are tolerant of urban living and already live wild in the Miami suburbs, the report said.

Scientists said the threat to humans from giant snakes in the wild is small.

A 2-year-old Florida girl was strangled this summer by a pet Burmese python that escaped from a holding tank in the child's home.

State wildlife managers recently allowed hunters to kill invasive snakes. Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress to ban the importation of some constrictors and the Humane Society of the United States recently said it supported laws to stop the importation of and trade in large reptiles.

http://in.reuters.com/article/lifest...091013?sp=true

[Irons]

Giant yellow rats invaded Washington DC years ago and nobody has done anything about that either.

[NoVABaller]

[SWRichmond]

NSFW:

You Tube

You Tube

[WilliamC]

As someone who currently owns a king snake I've never understood why someone would want to own a python or an anaconda or a poisonous snake. I am just not interested in having a pet that can eat me or someone else if it gets loose.

[horseshoe3]

I once owned a garter snake for a few minutes. Then my dog found it.

[Fanta]

Yes, they are a big problem down here. A couple months ago, one killed a 2 year old. I've heard they are going to make them open season along with the iguanas.

[Doge]

Originally Posted by Fanta

I've heard they are going to make them open season along with the iguanas.

I would love to head down to the glades and take a few pythons. The skin could bring in a good amount of FRNs.

[elroy]

Why some people have a need to own weird pets I don't understand.

We recently went to a large fall festival event, it attracts a couple hundred thousand people every year. We saw a woman with a large rat perched on her shoulder walking among the people. I've seen others parading around with snakes and lizards.

These freakie people feel a need to parade their zoo critters out in public totally disregarding the general public. Then when the pets become to much trouble they just turn them loose.
[rant off]

[Canadian-guerilla]

'Super snake' fears on the rise in Florida
January 15, 2010


5 African rock pythons, which in their homeland are known to eat goats, are seen during a 3-day search in Miami-Dade County. Officials worry that the rock python could breed with the Burmese python.


Reporting from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - Fears of a new "super snake" emerging in the Everglades grew this week during a hunt to track South Florida's invasive python population.

A three-day, state-coordinated hunt that started Tuesday had, by Wednesday, turned up at least five African rock pythons -- including a 14-foot-long female -- in a targeted area in Miami-Dade County.

Those findings add to concerns that the African rock python is a new breeding population in the Everglades and not just the result of a few overgrown pets being released into the wild, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

In addition, state environmental officials worry that the rock python could breed with the Burmese python, which already has an established foothold in the Everglades. That could lead to a new "super snake," said George Horne, the water district's deputy executive director.

In Africa, the rock python eats creatures as large as goats and crocodiles. There have been cases of the snakes killing children.

"They are bigger and meaner than the Burmese python. It's not good news," said Deborah Drum, deputy director of the district's restoration sciences department.

The concern is that a hybrid python could pose even more risk of large constrictor snakes overwhelming the Everglades -- where they thrive without a natural predator.

The state estimates that thousands of Burmese pythons have spread through the Everglades. Some came from people releasing exotic pets they no longer wished to care for; others are thought to have escaped during hurricanes and then bred new generations in the wild.

Unusually cold temperatures in South Florida recently have flushed more of the snakes out of the wild and onto flood control levees.

Three of the African rock pythons found in the snake hunt this week were captured, and two got away. One had a circumference of 31 inches. Another was bearing eggs.

The African rock python typically has a "nastier disposition" than the Burmese python, said LeRoy Rodgers, a water district scientist.

"These are animals that are hot predators, and now there are two species to worry about," he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/...tory?track=rss

[Prosepublico]

CG thanks for the update. Never understood why people own naturally dangerous pets. I would never own a pet an animal that views me or my kin as a future meal.

[dlm1968]

These big snakes are popping up more and more down here. They should have been out rounding up over the 2 week cold snap we had. Big iguanas are also getting out of control but this recent cold snap might have taken care of many of the iguanas. They stop moving at 40 degrees. We have been finding dead lizards all over the place around the house, they just froze to death.

[Mantokir]

Originally Posted by Prosepublico

CG thanks for the update. Never understood why people own naturally dangerous pets. I would never own a pet an animal that views me or my kin as a future meal.

Some people just don't like dogs....

[mayhem]

I have a canal in the back of the property. Haven't seen these cool snakes yet.

But I have seen a Otter eating a turtle on the bank one day. Where he came from I have no idea.

Waiting for a gator to appear close enough for me to get him. Good eating there.

If I were to find one of these big snakes the wife sure would have a new purse and shoes.

[BoatingAccident]

This is really big news, and I knew someday this would happen. Amazing.

Years ago, I used to have snakes. I first had 2 boa constricters that reached about 6 feet long. One was a little tempermental, the other was a total sweetheart.

I then acquired a baby burmese python. That snake was a feeding machine. Constantly aggressive and hungry. I got rid of him because he started mistaking me for food.

A friend had a reticulated python that was even more aggressive. By far, the worst though was hearing about the African rock python. None of us would even think about getting one of those.

I got out of the whole culture when a pet store owner, that I grew to trust, showed me his undergound basement with illegal poisonous snakes. Believe it or not, there's a huge sub culture of basement herpatologists breeding poisonous snakes right here in the States.

[Mantokir]

Originally Posted by BoatingAccident

This is really big news, and I knew someday this would happen. Amazing.

Years ago, I used to have snakes. I first had 2 boa constricters that reached about 6 feet long. One was a little tempermental, the other was a total sweetheart.

I then acquired a baby burmese python. That snake was a feeding machine. Constantly aggressive and hungry. I got rid of him because he started mistaking me for food.

A friend had a reticulated python that was even more aggressive. By far, the worst though was hearing about the African rock python. None of us would even think about getting one of those.

I got out of the whole culture when a pet store owner, that I grew to trust, showed me his undergound basement with illegal poisonous snakes. Believe it or not, there's a huge sub culture of basement herpatologists breeding poisonous snakes right here in the States.

If there's a market... there's a cellar.

[Ag_man]

I was ahead of the curve, back in the 80's when I got a Burmese Python. Didn't know shyte about them, wanted one "just because". I remember when I picked it up at the pet store, in a burlap bag. They told me to pay for it and get the F out of the store! Really, really bad idea. It was a voracious feeder and bad tempered. Eventually developed a case of skin mites and died.

I had my fill of reptiles with that one and really don't understand people that keep them as pets. There is something about reptiles that prevents a human-animal bond, as is found in higher animals, at least IMO. Never again.

YMMV

[Prosepublico]

Originally Posted by mayhem

Waiting for a gator to appear close enough for me to get him. Good eating there.

If you're close enough for you to catch a gator he's close enough to get you. Good eating there either way, but he won't save your skin to make a purse and shoes for his wife.

[Maddie]

I keep reptiles. I find them fascinating, and I've learned a lot in the years I've kept them. I draw the line at anything large enough or venomous enough to be a danger to me, my dogs, or my neighbors, and I would never, ever stress one out by parading around with it in public. I despise the pathetic losers who do that sort of attention-seeking, as well as the losers who dump an animal they've acquired because can't man up and live up to their responsibilities.

Ag_man is right, of course, reptiles don't bond with humans like animals that have lived with humans for tens of thousands of years, but that's not why most people keep them. Serious reptiles keepers are usually fascinated by reptiles and/or the genetics of breeding them. I did used to have a monitor lizard, however, that actually seemed to enjoy hanging out with me. I'd let him out to wander around the house, and he'd usually seek me out after a while and just hang out with me or put his head on my lap and sleep.

[____hoot____]

When I was a little kid 6-8 yo there was a snake dancer that lived two houses down in a semi rural area. Musta let them go when she moved out, but never told the neighbors that she had or what she had done for a living. Was always seeing them around , would run to tell my parents and they would be gone. Hit one over the head once and when I brought my dad back it was GONE. Saw one go a across the blacktop once and it was longer that a lane was wide. Nobody ever believed me, here in Michigan we don't have big snakes.


50 years later I ran into another neighbor who's dad was then a cop. She told me the story about the dancer and how a few years later her dad had shot two big snakes out back, 13 feet long and 11 1/2 feet long

[Gknowmx]

Originally Posted by Mantokir

If there's a market... there's a cellar.

[PALLADIUM]

One of my idiots cousins had a "pet" rattle snake. Then it tried to bite him, so he took it out and blasted it with a shotgun.