Nature Will Find A Way
Posted by: Loren Coleman on January 21st, 2007
"The effort to eradicate pythons in the Everglades resulted in 170 being removed last year, up from 95 in 2005, national park spokeswoman Linda Friar said." – Naples Daily News
Naples reporter Jeremy Cox, on Saturday, January 20, 2007, details (in part below) the real story about giant snakes being found in Florida:
Deborah Jansen plopped the white plastic trash bag onto the grass and reached inside to reveal its contents: a Burmese python, flattened the night before along U.S. 41 East.
Blood dripped from the snake’s mouth as Jansen, a wildlife biologist, uncoiled the snake to its full length and measured from mouth to tail. This one was 7 feet long, not even half-grown yet.
The invasion is on.
Last year, five pythons were found in Big Cypress National Preserve, up from three in 2005. For every python that is spotted, 10 more might be slithering around unseen, meaning the preserve in eastern Collier County could be home to 50 pythons, scientists estimate.
Wildlife officers and biologists are on high alert across Southwest Florida for the giant snakes, which can grow more than 20 feet long. A python will eat any animal that fits in its mouth, up to the size of a small deer.
Even alligators, which long have reigned at the top of the Everglades food chain, aren’t safe. A photograph of a 6-foot alligator exploding out of the gut of a python made national headlines in the fall of 2005.
* * *
The effort to eradicate pythons in the Everglades resulted in 170 being removed last year, up from 95 in 2005, national park spokeswoman Linda Friar said.
* * *
The python Jansen was measuring had been squished Monday night or Tuesday morning in front of the preserve’s main office, about three miles east of State Road 29. Pythons have been spotted inside the preserve as far from Everglades National Park as the Bear Island Unit, a popular deer-hunting area north of Alligator Alley, just east of S.R. 29.
So far, Fakahatchee Strand State Park, sometimes called “the Amazon of Florida” because of the wealth of wildlife it contains, hasn’t had any python sightings, said Mike Owen, a biologist.
But he suspects pythons are in his midst, and it’s more than a hunch. In the fall of 2004, a vehicle ran over an 8-foot exotic green anaconda on U.S. 41 East, which dissects the Fakahatchee, Owen said.
Pythons are becoming a regular sight at Rookery Bay, resource manager Keith Laakkonen said.
A 5-foot python was flattened on Barefoot Williams Road a little more than a year ago. A 6-footer was spotted crossing Collier Boulevard in the middle of the night in the direction of the reserve. And another was lying in the middle of Shell Island Road when someone gently moved the snake off the road.
For the full article see the Naples Daily News, It’s pythons vs. gators in battle for Big Cypress.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
This is no news to South Florida residents… The numbers cited above are way below the actual number… As a regular catcher-of-snakes in Florida, I can tell you that the pythons in Everglades National Park are here to stay. I’ve got a freind working on a project radiotagging and monitoring them, etc. and he finds one almost every night on Everglades roads, and this is the first year when they’ve found hatched python nests.
In the past couple of years, babies have been caught along with more mature specimens…this, combined with found hatched egg remains, means that the large snakes are breeding…and with a Burm capable of laying 80 eggs each year, 20 mature, breeding females could result in hundreds of offspring each year.
Now, along with the Burms, are released reticulated pythons, water monitors, nile monitors, and a few other large reptilian predators…they are very much here to stay.
This is very alarming stuff. It is a classic example of a non indigenous, introduced species thriving and overunning the native species. I feel bad for the pythons, but really this removal has to be done before other species start to get threatened by them. So far, the numbers seem manageable, but pythons are fairly adaptable so it is worrying. Over here where I live in Japan, there is a startling amount of native species that have been wiped out by introduced species like the raccon, the largemouth bass, the mongoose, and so on. The Amami hare is close to extinction here as well as many fish species. Case in point, down in Okinawa, they introduced the mongoose in a bid to kill off the poisonous Habu (a type of snake) and instead they have wreaked havoc on some native species.
This will ruffle some feathers I am sure, but I really don’t think that the pythons will have that much of an adverse effect on the native wildlife. South Florida is prime habitat for giant constrictors, but none had yet reached that area to fill the niche for a giant constricting snake. The closest native snakes to that niche are indigo snakes, which top out around ten feet. The pythons do not seem to have had an adverse effect so far, and pythons do not usually exist in such great numbers, in any location, to put local wildlife in danger of extinction.
Just as pythons (and boas; there are breeding boa constrictors in Florida too) sometimes eat alligators, alligators eat snakes. So do storks and other birds, and foxes, bobcats, weasels, and other predators prey on young snakes too.
I believe that the python population will stabilize, much as cattle egrets have done. I doubt that the pythons can be completely eradicated, especially from the Everglades. They have been breeding there for decades, and are well on the way to becoming an established part of the local fauna.
Of all the non-native species that have invaded Florida at the hand of man, pythons are among the least harmful. I agree that they should be removed wherever possible; that will help to keep their numbers down. On the plus side, maybe the pythons, which are not poisonous and not really dangerous to people as a rule, will help to check the numbers of some other non-native species such as cane toads and iguanas.
Well, I hope you are right Kittenz. The problem with some of these animals is that it is prime habitat for them, yet that habitat has evolved without the need for them to fill that niche. The area did well all this time without needing a niche for a giant, constricting snake to be filled or that niche has been filled by some other animal. There are areas of the world that do fine without large constricting snakes because they don’t need them. The problem is when an animal comes in and does the job better than whatever native species was doing that job before, effectively pushing it out of business. Or it will prey on creatures that have no defense against the new species. If a particular habitat cannot cope with the intruder, then you can have problems. I am not wrong when I say this has happened time and time again. Perhaps there is no need to worry about it just yet, and the snake population will stabilize and everything will be peachy. They do not seem to be causing any major repercussions as of yet, and you are right that they may even help get rid of other introduced vermin. But I think time will tell what ultimate effect the population of pythons here will have. I love snakes, and I hope I am wrong about this, but I think it is something to keep an eye on.
I see your point, mystery_man, and ideally there would be no alien species introduced by humans into areas where they are not native. But the reality is that pythons and boas of various types, and maybe even dangerous species such as cobras as well, are living and breeding in parts of the American South, especially southern Florida.
I don’t propose that people shoud be complacent about that, and every effort should be made to prevent the release of more non-native animals, especially into areas like Florida where conditions are favorable for their continued existence and propogation. They should be removed from the wild whenever they are found.
It’s certainly true that many introduced species are devastating when they establish wild breeding populations, and I am not trying to be cavalier about the real dangers this poses to native wildlife. I certainly would never release an alien species, and I think that people who do should be punished and fined – IF they can be caught, which is really unlikely. But pythons and boas as a rule are fairly benign snakes that usually exist at low densities, even in the areas to which they are native, and I don’t think that they will have as great an impact on Florida wildlife as many other introduced species have.
Well, I am hoping for the best. It will be interesting to see what happens. It’s too bad they probably dispose of the ones they catch. Poor things.
No, the pythons aren’t all disposed of. The large ones are radiotagged for later recapture and the babies are killed and they do stomach content searches on them. A acquaintance of mine found 5 out on a walk outside of Fort Lauderdale yesterday.
The pythons are bad enough, and Skip Snow, the head biologist at the park has his hands full with them.
However, there are other exotics that also present a severe danger as well. My friend, Bob Frier, who runs an animal rescue mission a short distance outside of the Everglades front entrance, has pulled out at least two King Cobras from that area.
At times, especially in the summer, 41 is a road-kill carnival. People need to slow down along the road — especially at night. We’re loosing too many endangered animals there — the Florida Panther for one.
King Cobras? ***mouth waters***
Interesting observations by all.
One thing that is generally taught in Hunter Safety Education classes and is extremely viable in this discussion, is the concept of ‘Carrying capacity’, i.e., how many of any animal can live in any given area and survive. To survive and ‘carry on’, any species must eat and exist in a non-threatening environment. If the Burmese Python can exist without predation they will increase in population as long as a food source is plentiful and unchallenged. The same applies to pets, many love cats, they care for them as children and spoil them without end, kitties are cute. They let them out for a walk unattended, the cats do what is natural to them and they stalk and eventually kill birds and other small animals. Ever find a mouse or other ‘something’ on your doorstep with Tabby purring and licking its paws with glee? Ever notice the lack of birds at your window feeder when the number of cats increases in your back yard or neighborhood? This is ‘Carrying capacity’ at work; more cats, fewer birds. Good? Is it the ‘balance of nature’ in action? Not my call, just an observation. The same applies directly to the Burmese Python, once they are out of food they will either migrate out of the area or become the food source for another predator. Man is the controlling influence here as the Python comes from the same source as a ‘pet’, the same as a cat, a friend or Pet Shop.
Education is a possible cure for this encroachment and laws with some teeth are the answer, for cats as well as Pythons. Many local animal groups encourage the use of nuetering for all pets, this is a positive method for controlling the population yet allowing for ‘X’ number of pets in any given area. Again, education and a follow-through with enforced laws is the answer. Purchasing a nuetered Python from a ‘legal’ Pet Shop by a reptile lover is a doable solution but must be enforced. With all types of animals and reptiles being brought into the continent illegally it is an enforement nightmare, will it ever be under control? Yet another area to consider.
Introduced species are not, as a rule, harmful. For years now, scientists have been ringing the warning bells (And rightly so) because a few of them have proved quite devastating, with the unintended effect that most consider ALL introduced species a danger. Potentially, they are, and I don’t dispute that. But there is a great deal of evidence that many fill niches that simply haven’t existed in those ecosystems, or may replace niches lost to extinction or decimation.
Here in New Jersey, we’ve had our share of devastating aliens (Grover’s Mill aside), particularly the Gypsy Moth. With nothing to prey on them, they have chewed up entire forests, reproducing ever more as they go. But we also have the Japanese Shore Crab, which seems to favour rocky areas spurned by native crustaceans, and are actually considered the best bait for catching Tautog and Black Sea Bass, indicating that they are surely eating. They have found a niche unexploited by native life and moved in. Net gain for the ecosystem, if you ask me (And they are beautiful crabs, if you ask me. I keep one in my saltwater tank at home). We also have emerging flocks of escaped Parakeets (various species, obviously), although they are more common in New York, I’m told. They seem capable of surviving the winters here, and likely are beginning to occupy the niche abandoned by the now extinct Carolina Parakeet, which once lived here in great numbers.
We know this now, but certainly could not have when the parakeets or shore crabs first arrived, which means that diligence and vigilance are key here. For all we knew, the Japanese Shore Crab could have been the next Snakehead fish or Zebra Mussel. As soon as new species are found they should be monitored, and action taken at the earliest sign of ecological disruption.
Florida represents the extreme case here. As #1 port of entry for exotic animals, legal or otherwise, it faces the potential for severe disruption. So far, that does not seem to be the case, but eventually something unstoppable is going to come through- Fire Ants, Snakeheads, Southeast Asian Swamp Eels (Actually, they did come through, but seem to have been caught in time). The animals capable of surviving and thriving in new environments, by their very nature, seem to be extremophiles, which is why they can outcompete everything else when conditions are bad. I would recommend restricting importation of such animals, and for those animals at least, have wildlife officials remove them whenever and wherever they are found.
This modern introduction of animals to new environments is unprecedented in its enormity in the whole of Earth’s history. Just by driving a boat from one continent to another, we have irrevokably altered the course of future evolution on this planet. Talk about a butterfly effect.
A thought I have long had is that if mankind survives long enough to get a handle on all the mass extinctions we’ve caused, we may want to try to repair some of that damage. Without the extinct animals available to us any longer, we would have to find their equivalents and introduce them, if we had any hopes of reconstructing damaged ecosystems. If we pay attention to what is going on now, what works and what doesn’t, what survives and what doesn’t, the irony is that we may then have the knowledge to undo some of the very destruction we are now wreaking.
Small consolation, I know, and it won’t bring back anything we’ve lost, or are about to lose, nor would any of those reconstructed ecosystems ever be what they were, but, well…they would work again, and that would be something, at least.
Good observations, Mnynames. I did not mean to totally condemn introduced species as an inexorable casue of destruction. But as you said, it is hard to see what the effect will be until there has been time to see the effect of any given species. Sometimes, the negative impact is not seen until it is too late. this is especially tragic with species that have been purposefully introduced for a specific cause, such as the mongoose in Okinawa that I mentioned before. Nature works in mysterious ways, and in a perfect world, we would have those Japanese shore crabs and parakeet situations all of the time. It is just not possible to adequately predict how a particular species is going to interact in a new, foreign ecosystem. Sure we can make educated guesses, but in the end nature is going to be slightly unpredictable. I just feel that it is best to be wary, to keep an eye on the situation, to put regulations into effect. I agree that we have to maintain a state of vigilance with these introduced species no matter how benign or even beneficial they may seem.
I don’t currently have any pet snakes, but I kept pythons and boas for years. To the best of my knowledge, and I do try to stay current, you cannot just neuter a snake the way you can a mammal.
These populations of introduced snakes did not, as a rule, originate from animals that escaped captivity, but rather from animals deliberately released by irresponsible people who no longer wanted them.
Responsible owners of pet nonpoisonous snakes are not the problem.
Kittenz- I was going to mention the question of neutering myself. I didn’t think you could either, but didn’t know enough about it to really say.
Since we’re sort of on the topic of nature working in odd ways, I thought I’d mention that it may not work in certain ways we think it does (Bear with me, as this does involve introduced species).
Take for example Christmas Island, I believe it is, and the annual migration of the millions of bright red forest crabs to the sea. This event has become famous, and greatly lauded worldwide, but it is likely the sign of a major ecological instability. No mention was made of this mass migration, which forces modern roads and businesses to close, by the original settlers of the island. They did, however, mention a native species of rat, and also noted how quickly it was replaced by Norwegian Rats introduced from their ships, until before too long, it was extinct. Some scientists now suspect that the native rats actively fed on or competed with the forest crabs, keeping their population in check. With them gone forever, it was maybe 50-100 years before the emergence of this otherwise spectacular “natural” display of huge numbers of crabs. Except it’s actually “unnatural.”
How many times has this happened and we haven’t noticed? Here in New Jersey, ecologists think they have a pretty good idea of how things work in the Pinelands, but can they really know, when so many species are missing? How could the presence of Buffalo (Yes, we had them), Wolves, Cougars (I’ve mentioned before that we still have them, even if officially we don’t, but you better believe the numbers are down, just as they are for Bears), Sea Mink, Passenger Pigeons, Carolina Parakeets, Heath Hens, Labrador Ducks, and large numbers of Hemlock Trees (All but wiped out in a blight) not have been significantly different?
That would be neutering SNAKES, not myself there….Just wanted to clear that up before the snickering got too out of control.
Great example, Mnynames! That is exactly what I am talking about. We can not always forsee the imact that any introduced species is going to have, and they can often have effects that are totally unpredictable. I was just reading an article on the zebra mussel in the Great lakes actually causing bacterial blooms that are deteriorating the quality of human drinking water. The effects can be far reaching. In the case of the Christmas island crabs, you can see how delicately balanced an ecosystem can be, all species working together like cogs in a machine. When you take away one species, no matter how tiny or seemingly insignificant, you get a butterfly effect that ends up reaching throughout the ecosystem. This may happen through introduced species or human activities, but the end result is the same. Often, there is no way of knowing how integral a species was or what kind of impact its loss will have until years down the line. The loss of any given species in any given biological niche is going to have potentially far reaching effects and I think it is only a matter of time before effects caused by the loss of the species Mnynames mentioned make themselves known. In the end, when you throw in any new, foreign species, you are throwing a wild card into a calibrated system. Sometimes it will be a dud or even beneficial, but other times you can have a ticking ecological time bomb. I know my tone is a bit ominous but I have studied too many cases of this nature to take these kinds of things lightly.
FYI…
Not sure if you saw this report or not but it is interesting to say the least when compared to the above article and swamp conditions.
Best regard and good researching!
GLS
Huge python makes a meal of 11 Malaysian guard dogs
Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:39 AM GMT18
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Guard dogs protecting a fruit orchard in Malaysia have met their match — a 7.1-metre-long (23-ft-long) python that swallowed at least 11 hounds before it was finally discovered by villagers.
“I was shocked to see such a huge python,” orchard-keeper Ali Yusof told the New Straits Times in an article published beneath a picture of the captured snake, which was almost long enough to span the width of a tennis court and as thick as a tree trunk.
Villagers did not harm the snake, which was tied to a tree then handed to wildlife officials, the paper said on Friday.
Glad they didn’t kill it. Any snake that can swallow 11 guard dogs has my respect!
I think that the python did not swallow 11 dogs at the same time, but one dog at a time over an extended period. In fact the original article alludes to that.
Most native dog breeds and mixed breeds in tropical areas are small-to-medium sized dogs, well within the size range of a large python’s prey. I think that the people probably tied a dog out, then it disappeared so they tied another dog out, and so on until 11 dogs had been eaten and they finally caught the python.
A big snake would have no trouble overpowering and eating a medium sized dog, but unless the snake caught the dog unawares, or the dog was fastened in some way that it could not run away, a dog could easily outrun a big snake.
Big snakes rarely eat multiple prey items unless they are being fed by humans. An exception can be where there are several helpless prey animals such as young in a burrow. The way that a snake eats is: they strike and bite a prey animal, coil it, examine it, find the head, and then swallow the animal head first. It takes considerable time. So unless the 11 dogs were all tied so that they could not escape, the rest would run away while the snake was eating the first one. Snakes also tend to stop eating once they are full. I think that even if there were 11 dogs that could not get away, the snake would probably stop after 4 or 5 at the most.
I had an 11 foot Burmese python who loved to eat. The most she ever ate at one feeding was 6 large rats. Usually she would stop at 2 or 3, and even if more rats – live or dead – were in her habitat, she would ignore the rest. Sometimes she would even act aggravated and bump extra animals out of the way with a her body after she was full, or else she would just go to the other side of her cage and stay there until the extra animals had been removed.
The snake in the photo that accompanied this article was not nearly distended enough to have just swallowed 11 dogs of any size. She did look like she had recently swallowed one, though.