Python hunters are flocking to Florida to catch snakes big enough to eat alligators

The 2023 Florida Python Challenge kicked off on August 4 and hundreds of participants are expected to flock to the Everglades to hunt the invasive species.

What is the Florida Python Challenge?

The competition, where hunters work to capture large Burmese pythons in an effort to curb their population in South Florida, will last until August 13. The hunter who captures the most pythons will get a $10,000 prize, while the runner-up gets $7,500.

CBS Miami reports this year's prize pool totals more than $30,000.

Last year, the competition drew more than 1,000 participants from 32 states, Canada and Latvia, Lisa Thompson, a spokesperson for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in an email to CBS News. A record 231 Burmese pythons were caught during that competition. 

Matthew Concepcion won the $10,000 prize by removing 28 Burmese pythons in 2022. The longest python captured in last year's challenge was 11 feet long, caught by Dustin Crum, who won a $1,500 prize.

Registration for the event is open until the last day, so the total number of participants this year has yet to be determined, but it's expected to be on par with past years, Thompson said. At least one participant came from as far as Belgium this year, she said.

The adult pythons in the area are usually between 6 and 9 feet, wildlife officials say, but some are significantly larger. 

Jake Waleri, 22, set the record for largest Burmese python caught in Florida earlier this summer. He caught the 19-foot, 125-pound snake in Big Cypress National Preserve on July 10 and wrestled with it as it tried to bite him. 

Pythons have few predators, except for humans, according to Florida wildlife officials. 

Thompson called the species "dietary generalists," meaning they prey upon animals that are native to the area, including some endangered or threatened species. They often eat rats, but could be a danger to humans and their pets. And they've even been known to eat alligators. 

Last year, python hunter Marcia Carlson Pack caught a 15-foot python with a 5-foot alligator inside of it, she told BBC News. Pack is a member of the all-woman hunting group Everglades Avenger Team, and she hunts the snakes year-round, but doesn't enter the competition. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requires hunters to use humane killing methods, which means the python must lose consciousness immediately during the kill. People who want to participate in the challenge must take an online training course to learn how to identify and humanely kill Burmese pythons. 

Waleri, who entered this year's competition with his cousin, told BBC News he is also bringing tape so he can close a python's mouth before the kill.

Pythons are nonvenomous, but they grab prey with their mouth and then constrict their body around the prey to suffocate it to death, according to the San Diego Zoo.

Waleri said he is also bringing bug spray, waders in case he needs to go into the water, and a stick to knock venomous snakes out of the way. His team, the Glade Boys, plans to hunt every night of the 10-day competition. 

Where did the invasive species come from?

The challenge was developed in 2013, but Burmese pythons have been spotted in the area since the 1980s, after being first brought in by exotic pet enthusiasts and exotic animals exhibitors. 

It was after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 that the giant snakes started wreaking havoc in the Everglades. The hurricane damaged wildlife facilities in the area, allowing Burmese pythons to escape from a breeding center into the local environment.

The species is invasive, meaning they were not naturally found in this ecosystem and can have negative effects on the environment and species around them.

Aside from preying on wildlife, the species also brought a nonnative parasite to the area, which can be passed to other types of snakes and may cause diseases, Thompson said. 

"Because of these threats, every python removed from the environment helps to protect native wildlife and habitats," Thompson said. 

As the python population grew, Florida's government started contracting python hunters to try to curb the population. The Florida Python Challenge is an annual event meant to raise awareness about the effort and encourage people to get involved. 

How many Burmese pythons are in Florida?

Tens of thousands of pythons are believed to be in Florida, according to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey published earlier this year. The pythons are most concentrated in the Everglades, where they've destroyed some local wildlife populations. 

As of 2012, the raccoon population had dropped 99.3 % since 1997. The opossums population dropped 98.9% and bobcats 87.5%. Other animals like marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes "effectively disappeared," according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The snake can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time, which has lead to the expansion of the species in the area over the last 20 years. Since 2000, more than 18,000 Burmese pythons have been removed in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

In:
• Burmese Python

Caitlin O'Kane

Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.