Pythons Dominating the Everglades
An article in the Washington Post, by Darryl Fears
January 30, 2012
- Pythons have been found with American Alligators in their stomachs
There are many ways humans can mess with nature. We can turn “wilderness” into a garbage dump (Meadowlands), we can put roads and tourists attractions in the desert, or we can let pythons and anacondas loose in the Florida, Everglades. After a few too many exotic pet owners decided having a 16-foot python around the house wasn’t as fun as they thought it would be and decided to do the “right” thing by letting them go free in the wild, the Everglades have been hit hard by the introduction of this top predator. There has been a significant decline of small mammals, deer, and bobcats all of which the python can easily prey upon. Although wildlife officials are capturing these snakes and removing them from the park, a python can lay up to 100 eggs and the warm weather in the Everglades makes it a perfect habitat for these snakes.
