Everglades Python Hunt A Bust - Maybe 50 Snakes Killed Out Of Estimated 150,000 [View all]

[hatrack]

(Reuters) - A nearly month-long hunt for Burmese pythons in Florida's Everglades was wrapping up this week with little to show for the efforts of more than 1,500 would-be snake slayers armed with everything from clubs and machetes to firearms and spears.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which organized the hunt, known as the Python Challenge, said on Thursday that only 50 Burmese pythons had been reported captured or killed as part of the event.

That means the hunt, which kicked off with great fanfare on January 12 and ends on Sunday, barely put a dent in the population of non-native snakes that have made a home and breed in the fragile Everglades wetlands.

Officials have said previously that the population is believed to have grown to as many as 150,000. The snakes are one of the largest species in the world and native to Southeast Asia. But they found a home to their liking in the Everglades when pet owners started using the wetlands as a convenient dumping ground.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07/us-usa-florida-pythons-idUSBRE91618J20130207?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29