Pythons

[Walt]

This topic has emerged in other threads, I thought I would start a Python thread.

 

I'll start off by asking these questions:

What threat level do these preditors pose to campers in ENP?  We are potentially on their menu, what precautions should we be taking?

[Keith W]

Pythons are apex predators in the Glades and as such they absorb and concentrate the mercury contained in their prey. The Miccosukee and Loop Rd locals dispute this and say that the the fish and other wildlife along the Trail in the BCNP are free of mercury despite data that clearly indicates otherwise. Believe whoever you want, I wouldn't eat any python or gator meat caught in the south Florida wilderness.

[Juan Estevez]

More recent data suggest that Pythons have a much larger concentration of mercury than fish or alligators:

"Mercury data were collected from 24 Burmese pythons in the ENP from 2006–2009 by the U.S. Geological Survey.  The mean THg concentration in muscle tissue of 3.6 ppm (range: 0.14–10.75 ppm) was significantly higher than in fish and alligators within the ENP"

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/Water/sas/mercury/index.htm#ever-mrp

Scroll down to  "Everglades Mercury and Sulfur Research Project" and click on the PDF reports.

[Swamp Hunter]

I didnt even think about the Mercury. The word I got is that they really stink. You dont want to get any bodily fluids or python poop on you.

I know a fellow who stopped to skin a python he found dead on the roadway but was overcome by the stench. His dog refused to get in the truck with him.  

Btw the snake above, after being shot by a park ranger, was still moving after it was brain dead. The heart appeared to be beating or maybe it was recently swallowed prey kicking inside...  yuck.... enough said...

The skin was very pretty and It will not go to waste. I was able to find someone to take it away because I was late for Thanksgiving dinner at Tippy's. We had a great time and many animals and birds will be saved with one less python in the swamp but it appears we are fighting a losing battle...

A snake this size could kill me.

[Swamp Witch]

When pythons attack.  Does anyone else have a scenario they envision about getting attacked by a python?  I have one.  It usually pops into my head when I’m hiking in Gator Hook or Fakahatchee Strand standing at the edge of a pool, ankle deep in water.  Any pythons in there?  Maybe an alligator or 2?  Do I walk through or go around?  I love walking through the water so that’s my first choice, but while I’m standing there the vision pops up.  I picture that scene in Star Wars IV where Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca are trapped in the trash compactor after escaping the prison level.  Luke’s just standing there, ankle deep in water and suddenly something wraps itself around Luke’s ankles and drags him under.  Poof.  Gone!

I usually walk through the water.

[shawn beightol]

Keep it sharp...

daniel said:

hey kim, yeah you could camp for 100 years without needing a machete. i wasn't suggesting that, like i said, if a huge predator wants to grab you, you'd probably just drop the knife and get crushed. but i have seen lots of snakes both big and small in my travels thru s florida... i love them, it's just the pythons don't belong there. i will also say, the part of the park with all the chickees and big water is not where i have seen the pythons... 

[shawn beightol]

I would imagine the frequency of observance has to do with the density of traffic.  Popular roadways will report more than isolated, seldom used trails (relatively speaking).  The map is probably not useful for identifying density of snake population. However, it works for density of human population.  Nevertheless, it does show rough boundaries of the extent of the problem

Chris H said:

If you have Google Earth installed you should be able to click the KMZ file from my previous post to download it and then double-click it to load it into Google Earth assuming its installed. I attached a picture below if anyone has trouble loading it.

It looks like SW Miami/Homestead area has had the bulk of the population. It appears that none were found along the Florida Trail through Big Cypress.  Obviously the data is skewed based on ease and likelihood of encountering them along roads with borrow pits or levees vs the more difficult to access areas. Perhaps I just don't know my pythons but I expected to see a cluster around the Turner River.  My python experience does not go beyond watching all the episodes of Python Hunter by the way.

Good point Dale about them typically being killed and not captured. I was thinking along the lines of captured dead or alive :-)  I did read that they have been recently catching and releasing breeding females equipped with radio transmitters so they lead them to males which are then killed. If I remember correctly I believe I remember reading that 3 from the python hunt were equipped with radio transmitters and re released this way.   

Daniel, how did you guys spot yours and where did you find it?

[shawn beightol]

I understand that large mammalian die offs as well as certain bird die offs coincided with the appearance of poisoned corn put out to get rid of hogs?  I'm not talking about hicks doing this, other than professionally paid hicks.

I also heard that certain "undesirable" mammal populations were reduced by lead poisoning from hovering platforms (helicopters).  And I'm not talking about hunters cheating...I'm talking about officially paid exterminations.

funny how this system works...

Dale said:

I ran out of time typing my additional thoughts. I wanted to add that besides large bears and panthers, very large, smart and tough boar hogs also survived the onslaught. Large male hogs were observed for several years on the Loop Road but have now died off.  They couldnt find a mate to reproduce. Two large male boars were killed deep in the Stairsteps and brought to the Forty Mile Bend check station. The hunters didnt realize that they had killed the last of DeSotos wild surviving pigs in the BCNP.  So sad.

Deer hunting has been suspended indefinitely in the area.

 

[Swamp Hunter]

I would comment here but I won't because I like my current job and I want to keep it.   

shawn beightol said:

I understand that large mammalian die offs as well as certain bird die offs coincided with the appearance of poisoned corn put out to get rid of hogs?  I'm not talking about hicks doing this, other than professionally paid hicks.

I also heard that certain "undesirable" mammal populations were reduced by lead poisoning from hovering platforms (helicopters).  And I'm not talking about hunters cheating...I'm talking about officially paid exterminations.

funny how this system works...

 

[Swamp Hunter]

I dont walk through deep water anymore.  

I remember wading through waist to above waist deep water in the Loop Unit and my buddy said the bubbles next to me were from a submerged gator. I said what do we do now? He said we could pray or keep walking.

Waist deep is too deep. 

Do Pythons leave air bubbles? What about Anacondas?

Swamp Witch said:

When pythons attack.  Does anyone else have a scenario they envision about getting attacked by a python?  I have one.  It usually pops into my head when I’m hiking in Gator Hook or Fakahatchee Strand standing at the edge of a pool, ankle deep in water.  Any pythons in there?  Maybe an alligator or 2?  Do I walk through or go around?  I love walking through the water so that’s my first choice, but while I’m standing there the vision pops up.  I picture that scene in Star Wars IV where Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca are trapped in the trash compactor after escaping the prison level.  Luke’s just standing there, ankle deep in water and suddenly something wraps itself around Luke’s ankles and drags him under.  Poof.  Gone!

I usually walk through the water.

[Swamp Witch]

Thigh deep max only if absolutely necessary.  I also keep a look out for bubbles, moving plants, and stirred up silt.

[Chris H]

I agree 100%.  The data is very skewed and needs interpretation.  South Florida is an exciting place to live!  Pythons on the loose, Nile Crocodiles possibly establishing a foothold.  I wonder what it will be like in another 15 years?

shawn beightol said:

I would imagine the frequency of observance has to do with the density of traffic.  Popular roadways will report more than isolated, seldom used trails (relatively speaking).  The map is probably not useful for identifying density of snake population. However, it works for density of human population.  Nevertheless, it does show rough boundaries of the extent of the problem

Chris H said:

If you have Google Earth installed you should be able to click the KMZ file from my previous post to download it and then double-click it to load it into Google Earth assuming its installed. I attached a picture below if anyone has trouble loading it.

It looks like SW Miami/Homestead area has had the bulk of the population. It appears that none were found along the Florida Trail through Big Cypress.  Obviously the data is skewed based on ease and likelihood of encountering them along roads with borrow pits or levees vs the more difficult to access areas. Perhaps I just don't know my pythons but I expected to see a cluster around the Turner River.  My python experience does not go beyond watching all the episodes of Python Hunter by the way.

Good point Dale about them typically being killed and not captured. I was thinking along the lines of captured dead or alive :-)  I did read that they have been recently catching and releasing breeding females equipped with radio transmitters so they lead them to males which are then killed. If I remember correctly I believe I remember reading that 3 from the python hunt were equipped with radio transmitters and re released this way.   

Daniel, how did you guys spot yours and where did you find it?

[shawn beightol]

My solo hike down to New River last week got me wondering so I did a little sleuthing online.  

1) I guess the number one step would be to carry a knife and cut its head off if possible.  I saw a video of indigenous people using a guys leg wrapped in cloth as bait.  The dangled it in a hole where an anaconda lived and when he had swallowed up to his calf, they pulled the guy with the snake out of the hole then slit the snakes mouth back to release the foot.

The point of this observation is if you cannot cut off the head, slit the mouth back.

2) If you can grab its head, don't let it coil up your arm or it will squeeze your arm and hand to free its head then strike you.

Bottom line, don't let it coil on you, especially your neck and torso (duh?).

3) Finally, if you do not have a knife, the advice is to bite its tail.  Apparently it is very sensitive here.  The point was made that the tail is far more sensitive than the body.

Here are the 3 articles that I thought were of interest:

Instructions

1 Don't go walking alone in areas with anacondas. You are a more appealing target if you are by yourself, and you won't have anyone to help you out.

2 Try not to get gripped in the first place. Stay out of the shallow rivers anacondas like. If you do see a snake, don't get close to it. Watch out to see if it is tracking your movement, following you, and flicking its tongue. These are signs that it is getting ready to strike.

3 Do not exhale. Every time you exhale, the snake will squeeze tighter, preventing you from getting your breath back.

4  Bite the end of the snake's tail as hard as you can. This will cause the anaconda tremendous pain, causing it to let go.

5 Hit the snake with a nearby rock or other blunt object. If you can not get ahold of the tip of the tail, the best thing to do is to batter it until it releases you. Predators don't want a fight. They want something that they can eat without getting hurt themselves. If you can hurt the snake enough, it will let go of you and find easier prey.

Tips & Warnings

Biting the anaconda in the middle of its body may not have the same effect as biting the tip of the tail. Anacondas are very thick, so you may not be able to do any real damage unless you get a weak spot.

If the anaconda bites you, push your hand further into its mouth to escape the fangs. Anacondas have curved teeth, so trying to pull your hand out will impale it further.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_4548898_escape-anacondas-grip.html

When handling a large constrictor, never allow any of the coils to wrap around your torso or your neck. Boas and pythons are extremely powerful animals, and can cause problems for you even if they are not attempting to constrict, simply by hanging on. If startled or frightened, the snake's reaction will be to tighten its grip--which can present immediate and serious problems if the snake has you coiled in a vulnerable spot.

http://www.anapsid.org/handling.html

For a tradesman, a pocket knife is an invaluable tool to have by your side.  You never know when you may find yourself in a situation where you need to pull out your blade.  You may, for instance, stumble upon an 18 foot, 128-pound Burmese python like 23-year-old Jason Leon did in Florida City.  If it wasn’t for the knife Jason used to slice off the python’s head as it wrapped its way up his waist, this record setting python may still be on the loose, digesting Jason’s body. 

- See more at: http://www.kleintools.com/content/how-kill-128-pound-burmese-python

Palmetto Bay man wrestles, kills 128-pound python in Florida City

 

BY EVAN S. BENN

[e-mail]

Jason Leon said he has two regrets about slicing the head off the longest Burmese python recorded in Florida:

He wishes he didn’t have to slay the beast, and he wishes his bedroom walls were big enough to mount the snake’s skin.

“I’m actually really mad I had to kill it,” Leon, 23, said Monday. “But at one point it coiled around both of my legs and my waist, and I wasn’t going to take a chance on letting that thing get to my neck.”

Leon and two friends were zipping around Florida City on ATVs on May 11 when one of them spotted a snake poking its head out of some brush near Southwest 373rd Street and 167th Avenue.

Leon, a part-time marine biology student at Florida International University and a former owner of pet snakes, jumped off his ride and grabbed the python behind its head, dragging it into the roadway.

He quickly realized the snake was bigger than any he’d seen or handled: 18 feet, 8 inches long and 128 pounds, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The previous record for Florida’s longest Burmese python was set in August, when a pregnant snake captured in the Everglades stretched to 17 feet, 7 inches and weighed 165 pounds.

Leon said he wrestled with the python for about 10 minutes before reaching for a knife to destroy it. He reported the find to wildlife authorities, who brought the snake to University of Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center for a necropsy.

The “thin but healthy” snake had not been carrying eggs and had nothing in its digestive system save for a single bird feather, center spokeswoman Carolina Revilla-Vendrame said.

Burmese pythons are a nonnative, invasive species in Florida that for decades have been eating their way through populations of native mammals in the Everglades.

The state organized a highly publicized python-hunting challenge this year to raise awareness of the problem. Smoked and braised python dishes were on the menu this month at a charity dinner featuring invasive species.

Florida prohibits owning or selling pythons for use as pets, and federal law bans importation and interstate sale of the species.

While the Fish and Wildlife Commission lauded Leon for removing the giant python from the streets of South Florida, a spokeswoman noted that, instead of taking matters into his own hands, he could have called the state’s exotic-species hot line: 888-483-4861 or reported it to IveGot1.org.

“With a large snake like that or any wild animal, we urge people to use common sense,” the agency’s Carli Segelson said. “The best thing to do is call our hotline.”

Leon said he’s been enjoying retelling the stories to incredulous friends. And he’s looking forward to Wednesday, when the state is giving him the snake’s skin as a souvenir.

“I was thinking I’d put it up in my bedroom, but I don’t think there’s enough room on the walls to hold all of it,” he said. “I’ll probably roll it up and keep it in a vase in the living room for now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/20/3407473/palmetto-bay-man-wres...