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The Burmese python has worn out its welcome , and its metre is nigh .
For the 2d sentence since 2013 , Florida wildlife officials are invite people virtually and far to look for Burmese pythons ( Python bivittatus ) in the Everglades . look on where they spot the invading species , participants can either capture or obliterate the snakes , which are by and large about 6 pes ( almost 2 metre ) in duration , tell Carli Segelson , a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ( FWC ) .
Director Nick Wiley (left) and Commissioner Ron Bergeron with a python.
However , the snakes ' brownish markings make them well camouflage . So far , 1,035 volunteers have caught 95 snakes — more than the 68 snakes catch by 1,600 participants in 2013 , Segelson said . [ picture : Burmese Pythons encroach upon the Florida Everglades ]
The 2016 challenge , which started Jan. 16 and stop Feb. 14 , is the state ’s way of controlling the pythons ' universe . " It ’s not good for the ecosystem and the native wildlife to have an invasive species living in the sphere , " Segelson told Live Science .
Either path , the pythons have prospered in the Everglades ' hot , humid summers and modest winter . They ’re also eating the aboriginal birds , mammal , Pisces and reptilian , Segelson tell . There are some study of gator run through the python ( and vice versa ) , but other than that , the Python Challenge seems to be the only major means to get rid of them . Experts are n’t sure how the pythons got established in the Everglades , but they have two approximation . Perhaps pet proprietor countersink captive snakes free into the state of nature , Segelson say . Or , maybe the snakes escape from captivity duringHurricane Andrew in 1992 , she said .
The Burmese python isn’t venomous, but the non-native species is destroying the native wildlife in Florida’s Everglades.
Volunteers can brush up on their python - finding and safety skills atPythonChallenge.org , which has video recording and tip for enamor the snakes . On modal , it takes more than 15 hours to pick out a python , but participants might have more luck if they look in marshes , pine rocklands , canal banks and subject areas , according to the situation . Moreover , the challenge is held in the winter , when snakes pass more sentence savour in the sun ( especially on levees or tree diagram islands ) due to the cooler weather .
Volunteers can stamp out snakes in certain sphere , but some regions require that they capture the snakes live on and take them in to be euthanized . In these instances , volunteers can putsnakes in breathable bags — such as cotton plant pillowcases — and then put the grip in a heavy - duty , ventilated container labeled " dangerous reptile , " before handing them over to officials .
People can still record for the Python Challenge , which only formally stop on Valentine ’s Day — if hoi polloi see an invasive plant or animal in the wilds of Florida , they can call 1 - 888 - IVE - GOT-1 ( 1 - 888 - 483 - 4681 ) ordownload the app . They can also connect thePython Patrolto help catch the snakes yr - circular .
Florida law enforcement officials show a captured wild Burmese python.
Who knows , maybe the next voluntary will break the record , Segelson said . Right now , the longest wild python caught in Floridameasured 18 feet farseeing ( 5.5 m ) , Segelson enunciate , but they are known to grow to be up to 26 human foot long ( 8 megabyte ) in their native nursing home on the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia .
