Wild Pythons living all over Texas and much of the U.S....here to stay!

[BuckAssassin]

This thread by Shane brings up something I saw on the news the other day.

The U.S. Government is conducting studies on how fast Pythons reproduce in the U.S. wild. Because, they want to make an estimate of how many are currently living wild in the U.S.. You read that right. They are now a wild, invasive species living in a huge part of the U.S..


Here is a link and some pics...

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1875

http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/167

Yeah, that's a person in the snake in the last pic.


.

[b.latiolais]

So, who is winning the fight between the gator and the snake in the top right?

[BuckAssassin]

? good question.

[flatlander]

Could make for a nice add on to an exotic hunt. Pay for a blackbuck or axis and you get unlimited wild hogs and a 'trophy' python.

[aaronm]

got 5$ on gator

[BuckAssassin]

Here's the follow up to the last pic. Disgusting.

Kind of makes you wonder....when they get well established how many dogs, cats, deer, pigs, rabbits, kids or even adults will go missing every year in the south?

[El Cheapo]

Big problem in Everglades National Park (South Florida). Back in the late 70's used to go to Big Cypress Swamp for ROTC FTX's. It was bad enough with the alligators and moccasins. Anywhere with lots of water and a warm climate is a target for these big snakes. I would think that Houston would be a prime breeding ground.

[fishdog]

i cant wait for trophy python and anaconda hunts! this could make walking to the deer blind in the dark a little more intresting.

[BuckAssassin]

"Wildlife managers are concerned that these snakes, which can grow to over 20 feet long and more than 250 pounds, pose a danger to state- and federally listed threatened and endangered species as well as to humans," said Bob Reed, a USGS wildlife biologist at the Fort Collins Science Center in Colorado, who helped develop the maps. "Several endangered species," he noted, "have already been found in the snakes' stomachs. Pythons could have even more significant environmental and economic consequences if they were to spread from Florida to other states."

[Txjourneyman]

Will he price of Python boots come down?

[SMUMan02]

Great. One more snake to worry about.

[Randy]

Looks to me like a tie and everybodies losing

[chester12]

Seen that in an e-mail before, the snake won in the beginning, but the alligators claws ripped it open from the inside out.

[Landrover]

I have seen this pics a few times and YES the snakes are doing very well in Florida and will surely do well along the Gulf Coast!!!

[Tx625]

I doubt my snake boots will stand up against one of those.