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The day has finally arrived. On July 10, hundreds of professional and amateur snake catchers participated in the annual Florida Python Challenge, a 10-day race to remove as many of the invasive animals as possible from the Everglades. The person who captures the most snakes will win a first-place prize of $10,000, while another $15,000 in payouts will go to other categories, including longest snake captured.
Conservationists estimate there are between 100,000 and 300,000 Burmese pythons (Python Bivittatus) live in the subtropical regions of the state, where they have thrived as apex predators since their accidental introduction into the wild during the 1970s. Pregnant females can lay more than 70 eggs at a time and each hatchling can reach an adult length of 13 feet long. Despite their population explosion, the average viewer only sees about five percent of all pythons. That means only one in 20 snakes is detected on any given day.
More than 600 people registered to participate in this year’s Florida Python Challenge through July 7, according to Naples Daily News. Last year, more than 900 local and international competitors participated, and the largest snake captured was nearly 16 feet long. However, the annual event is not a free-for-all. Every hunter must complete a safety course before searching for snakes, and although weapons are allowed on private land with the owner’s permission, all pythons must be euthanized as humanely as possible.
It may come as a surprise, but decapitating one of these enormous, coiled predators is absolutely it’s not an ethical means of disposal. Because snakes possess extremely slow metabolisms and can survive on very low amounts of oxygen, they can remain conscious (and in immense pain) for an extended period of time after decapitation. Instead, hunters are advised to draw an imaginary line from each eye to the opposite jaw bone and then locate where those paths intersect. You can then use a sharp rod or screwdriver to impale the top of the head before moving the tool in a multilateral direction to ensure immediate loss of consciousness and quick death. No one said python hunting was for the squeamish.
The Florida Python Challenge will end at 5 pm EDT on July 19 and the champions will be announced shortly after.
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