In the United States, the problem of species invasion can be said to be "well-known" in the world, and in recent years, the number of Burmese pythons in Florida has surged to a staggering number.
Many related measures have also been implemented in this regard, but none of them have achieved significant results. Although professional snake catchers have captured about 5,000 pythons in the past three years, they have not been able to control the rapid growth of Burmese pythons, which can make the local government scratch their heads.
Burmese python is not a native species of the United States, native to Southeast Asia, usually living in tropical rainforests, native areas include Myanmar, Thailand, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and so on, and also in China's south China is also distributed.
Burmese pythons are famous for their huge size, reaching up to 7 meters in length and weighing up to 91 kilograms, of which the female Burmese python is larger than the male, and is the second largest python in Asia, second only to the reticulated python.
The longest recorded Burmese python so far is 9.75 meters, and a Burmese python in the Illinois Snake Safari Park in the United States is currently the record holder for the heaviest weight of the world's breeding snakes.
In 2005, it weighed 183 kilograms and reached a body length of 8.2 meters, but in general, the body length of the Burmese python did not exceed 5 meters.
Burmese pythons are mainly active at night, most of the time they are hidden in the bushes, very good at climbing and swimming, they can stay in the water for about half an hour at most, and their habitat is generally close to the water source.
Like ordinary snakes, Burmese pythons are also carnivorous, mainly preying birds and mammals, how much prey they eat depends on their size, in addition, adult Burmese pythons have no natural enemies, but young Burmese pythons have natural enemies and will be attacked by crocodiles and monitor lizards and die.
In the last century, burmese pythons were introduced to Florida as foreign pets, but were later "abandoned" to the wild Everglades for reasons such as "can't afford to keep" and "don't want to keep them".
The Everglades is a relatively large wetland that occupies a large part of Southern Florida and is arguably a haven for Burmese pythons, who quickly established populations here and became one of the most concerned invasive species in the Florida Everglades.
In a 2012 study, the South Florida region has seen a 99.3 percent drop in raccoon numbers, a 98.9 percent decline in possums, and an 87.5 percent drop in bobcats since 1997, while swamp rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes have all but disappeared.
It can be seen that the Burmese python has caused serious damage to the ecosystem of the United States Everglades, so in the United States, it is often necessary to hunt the Burmese python to protect its ecological balance, such as holding a bounty competition, any person can kill the Burmese python at will, each catch of a python can get at least 50 US dollars, and the person who catches the longest python and the most giant python can receive hundreds of dollars!
Data show that since 2017, python hunters in the United States have killed about 6300 Burmese pythons, but this number is "small and big" compared to the population of Burmese pythons, and the United States even encourages people to eat snakes.
But an analysis of Burmese python samples by Dr. David Krabbenhoft, an environmental chemist at the U.S. Geological Survey, found that mercury levels were much higher than the food standard, making them a tough match in the United States.
As we all know, the snake skin of all giant pythons is considered to be a good material for making high-quality leather, so many leather dealers and hunters will hunt giant pythons, and Burmese pythons, like these giant pythons, have not escaped the "lust" of businessmen, in addition, there are some folk medicines, brewing wine and other reasons for hunting and killing has also caused a sharp decline in the number of wild Burmese pythons.
At present, the wild Burmese python has been included in the list of "endangered species" and has been valued by various countries, for example, in China, the Burmese python belongs to the national first-level protected animal.