Giant Pythons Have Overrun Florida. Here’s Why.

Another monster gone! Oh my God. Burmese

pythons

have

transformed the entire South Florida ecosystem. After arriving

here

as seemingly innocent pets, these snakes

have

invaded their new environment in just a few decades. The thing is, t

here

's still a lot we don't know about how these elusive snakes live in the wild, like how long they live, how far they move, or even how many babies they have. And the only way to know... well, is to catch them. So I met with a python hunter, an exotic pet dealer, and a team of wildlife biologists to learn the story behind the invasion and see how these dedicated South Floridians are working together to protect these natural habitats.

I'm Shane Campbell-Staton and this is Human Footprint. Once I see it, the adrenaline starts pumping and, you know, the game begins. I have captured on full moons, I have captured below 75. I have captured on windy days. So, you know, you have to be out here. You never know when a python is going to be moving around here. In 2017, Donna Kalil left her real estate job to become a full-time Burmese python hunter. I love, love this snakeskin. It's nice and flexible. Just there. Yeah! I love the ornament. Help my volunteers remember what they are looking for. What made you decide to take on the role of Python Wrangler?

I know how to catch snakes. I've known it all my life. And I knew I can make a difference in the environment I love. What is the biggest python you have ever caught? The biggest one I caught was 16 pairs. Oh, wow! These guys didn't grow wings and flew from Southeast Asia. We brought them here. So we create the problem. We have to fix it. One way Florida is trying to fix the problem is by paying people like Donna to capture and kill

pythons

. So far, he has brought back more than 600 of them. So if you see something on the way, shout "Python" and you're done.

Awesome. Let's ride. I have a lot of respect for these things because they are in an environment where they were placed and they took charge. Oh, could you stop? Back up just a little bit. I have something? Arrest. Let me go check it. Was it by the trees? We both saw it. When they feel vibrations coming towards them, when they think that something is coming towards them, they will take off. There's an alligator right there. Have you definitely seen a python? I'm positive. If it was a python, it got to the water before us. To understand how the python problem began, it is necessary to understand the pet trade in Florida.

Some of the snakes Donna and I were looking for came from stores much like this one in Palm Beach County. We had a 22 foot reticulated python named Heather. We named it after my sister. I was never really afraid of big snakes. Hillary Dupont took over the store from her parents, who opened it in the '90s. Her father was a herpetologist and zookeeper, so Hillary has been around exotic animals her entire life. So growing up, back in the day, I have pictures where my dad used to bring home the lions and chimpanzees from lion country, back when that was "ok"!

Hillary is also raising her children in this world and, from what I can see, they like it. I mean, really, what kid wouldn't love growing up with all these animals in the family? Did many Burmese pythons pass through this store? Were they sold here? Yes we did it. We had a lot of Burmese pythons coming in and out and people were buying them. And then, of course, when they got to a certain size, they said, oh, where are we going to store this? Where are we going to put this? And they would bring them back. But not everyone brought their pythons to the store.

Many were thrown into the nearest wetland. Yes, we are 100% to blame for contributing to that in the past, but that's where I'm redeeming myself. Florida Fish and Wildlife called us and said, do you want to be a drop-off center? And we said, absolutely. And that's when they started coming to us. Wildlife drop-off centers provide a safe place for people to bring unwanted pets... so Hillary's store is a rare place where you can see legally kept Burmese pythons in Florida. Can I see one of these guys? Do you want to go see one of them? Oh yeah.

I'll take you there. Come darling. Oh my God. Come on. The boy has a body, as they say. This is Satan. Is this Satan? I know. He is a horrible name. He is a bit heavy and lanky. Alright Satan, let's say hello everyone. How long does Satan last? Well, he's about eight feet tall. Well. And how old is the Prince of Darkness? We've had it for about five or six years. In a glass cage, these snakes appear harmless. But when they were released into a new environment, the results were devastating. Scientists are still trying to understand how big of an impact they are having.

What they do know is that with their indiscriminate appetite, these snakes are wreaking havoc on native species in the ecosystem. Burmese pythons can eliminate the ecosystem's top predators, such as alligators and crocodiles, upsetting the delicate balance in the Everglades, home to endangered species such as the Florida panther. And they can also pose a risk to humans. While Burmese pythons typically stay away from us, they can attack and constrict in defense and are fully capable of devouring dogs and cats. The animal is a challenge like no other. There are many surprises. This is ecologist Kristen Hart from the United States Geological Survey.

When she's not chasing personal bests, she's chasing pythons... Kristen and Matt McCollister of the National Park Service are part of a team that's trying to learn everything they can about how these snakes live in Florida's swamps. On the to-do list today is reviewing two of our passed down females. Well. She weighed about 125 pounds when she was caught this time last year. This is a basic radio label. Well. This is for an adult. We anchor it to the rib. Then, there is surgery to place the tags. We place two so as not to lose them. They have a different frequency.

So if one runs out, a tag or the battery expires, we still have a backup. And that's how it actually happens in the body in surgery. And then we feed the antenna also just under the skin. You can hear it in the animal. It's all inside. They then come to surgery based on the expected battery life. It seems quite simple, but at the same time it is a very technologically advanced solution. It's a really important tool for us. If we're just walking through the woods, you're not likely to find a python. Tags are definitely what helps us track these animals.

The team has radio-tagged more than 60 pythons. But they're still learning the most basic facts about the biology of this species... like how long they live, how far they move, and how many babies they have... because to control them, we have to understand them. So we'll end up going around this swamp and then we'll go back to the pine tree. I think they are adapting very well. And very quickly here in South Florida, it becomes a landscape-scale phenomenon. This is not an easy environment to navigate...let alone find a snake that doesn't want to be found. It makes me realize how great a human being I am.

I'm not exactly cut out for stealth, but I'm doing my best. If it were easy, it would have been done sooner. Burmese pythons are very cryptic. They are in the channels. They are on the dikes. They can be in trees and underground. I think it's right here, just outside the sign. You know, the animal is about 16 feet long, so it could be in a few places. But if he's in a ball, he's probably here. Right where the signal feels hot. It demonstrates once again why they have been able to conquer this habitat. Believe it or not, there is a snake here.

The radio tag doesn't lie...there's a 16 foot python right under our feet, we just can't reach it. Unfortunately, you've all received the typical track experience. We'll have to try another one. I mean, I think it's like something extraterrestrial. Good? I mean, they lose teeth and they grow back. They have regenerative organ growth. So they may like their heart to shrink, their stomach to shrink and then grow back. This is a vast desert with many prey. We have seen everything in their diet: mammals, birds, alligators. Once alligators are on the menu, you'll have achieved official gangster status.

It's just amazing. Burmese pythons eat prey as small as mice and as large as deer. And in some part of the Everglades, populations of these mammals have been reduced by more than 90% compared to their numbers of pythons. She is at the base of this pumpkin myrtle. I see her, I think. Do you see it in there? Yes. Go and draw your blood. It is moving. I see it. Do you see it in there? Put the camera in there. You see it? I want to let her move out. Are you ready? Yes. No, she ran away. Here is a head.

Touch this animal and feel how muscular everything is. Giving me all kinds of gifts here. You appreciate its beauty. But it's also as if this couldn't exist. I mean, but it is. Do you want to go and tighten the cord? 20.1. Tare the bag. It's hard to believe this 10-foot snake is the smallest python we tracked today. After taking measurements and collecting blood, the team releases the snake into the wild. For Kristen, that's a necessary evil. It's a big ask to return them, right? Because she has an invasive in her hand, just put it down and get it out of her system.

But if we do that, we lose the ability to learn. It's like driving the car while building it in many ways. The rule book does not exist for these animals. The better we understand these snakes, the more likely we will be to find a weakness that we can exploit to control them and reduce their impacts. What is the outlook? Is the goal like eradication? Is that beyond what is possible now? I think trying to manage and mitigate the impacts that they're having is kind of a shifting, shared goal. I love the Everglades. I have to work on this issue as if I can't go back no matter how difficult it is or how frustrating it is at times.

If you want more Human Footprint, you can tune into the entire series on the PBS app or on your local PBS station. Check out the link in the description to watch a full episode and learn more about the show.