It started as a trickle—pet Burmese pythons, brought to Florida by exotic animal enthusiasts, sometimes released into the wild when owners could no longer care for them. At first, it seemed harmless. But Florida’s subtropical climate proved welcoming, and the trickle became a flood.
By the 1990s, sightings of these massive snakes in the Everglades were becoming more common. By the early 2000s, they were everywhere.
Burmese pythons, native to Southeast Asia, found a second home in the wetlands of southern Florida. With no natural predators and a vast ecosystem teeming with prey—rabbits, birds, raccoons, even alligators—they flourished. Some estimates suggest tens of thousands now live in the Everglades, some stretching more than 15 feet long…