Aida Piña
Mr. Skipper
Encounters 8
March 5, 2023
Exotic Pets Gone Wrong
Introduction
Florida is home to many people, animals, and plants, but the Burmese Python is not welcome in Florida. The Burmese Python is a python that was brought as a pet trade and was meant to be sold as an exotic pet. People who couldn’t maintain their pythons started to release the python into the wild thinking it would be best for the Burmese Python to live in the wilderness. Once the Burmese Python was released it started to reproduce and overpopulate Florida Everglades. The Burmese python is dangerous and should be eliminated from the Everglades. The Burmese python became an invasive species threatening other animals’ lives and ecosystems. Burmese pythons already have made many animals go near extinction due to the fact that they eat a lot to survive. The Burmese python is being hunted down in hopes of reducing the Burmese Python population and saving other species from extinction.
Taxonomy and Description
The Burmese pythons are cool giant snakes, one of the most known snakes in the world because the Burmese python is one of the most dangerous snakes to animals. The Burmese python's scientific name is Python bivittatus and it comes from the genus Python Daudin. The Burmese python is classified as a reptile and can measure up to 16 to 23 feet. The Burmese python is known as one of the most giant snakes in the world and can weigh up to 200 pounds. The average lifespan of a Burmese python is from 20 to 25 years (“Burmese Python, National Geographic”). When a Burmese python is born they usually stay in trees, but after time the python becomes too heavy and it makes it harder for the python to climb trees. The Burmese pythons are also good swimmers and can stay underwater for 30 minutes before reaching the surface (“Burmese Python, National Geographic”).
The Burmese python is also known for its green and brown patterned skin, their sharp teeth, and the way they hunt for food. The Burmese pythons are classified as carnivores and they usually hunt for small mammals and birds (“Burmese Python National Geographic”). The way the Burmese python hunts is by constriction which means it wraps itself around the prey and suffocates it to death. They have heat sensors that help the python locate their prey. The sharp teeth and the tubes on their mouth allow the python to breathe while the “stretchy ligaments in their jaws help the python swallow the food whole” (“Burmese Python, National Geographic”).
Introduction to Non-Native Habitat
Having a pet is full of responsibilities and, having an exotic pet takes many more responsibilities. That's why people should think first before adopting a Burmese python as a pet. Burmese pythons were brought from Southeast Asia to the United States, and Florida. The Burmese python was brought to Florida and sold as an exotic pet. Unfortunately, caring for the Burmese python turned out to be expensive and people that bought the python decided to release them in the wild thinking it was the right thing to do. The Burmese python was imported to the “U.S. for the pet trade, and many were intentionally released” (Burmese Python, Invasive Species Info). Releasing the python into the wilderness was a terrible choice since there are almost no animals in Florida for the Burmese python to compete with for food. The Burmese python became invasive because they had little to no competition for food. The Burmese Python has caused the number of small mammals living in the Everglades to decrease. In the article “How Have Invasive Pythons Impacted Florida Ecosystems,” the author states that severe mammal declines in Everglades National Park have been linked to Burmese pythons. The Burmese python started to overpopulate because they could lay up to 12 to 48 eggs in the spring. Burmese pythons are overpopulating Florida and the more pythons there are, the less food other animals get to survive.
Apart from the fact that the Burmese can reproduce at an incredible rate, the habitat they are currently in also helps them survive. “Burmese Pythons also are competing for food, habitat, and space” (Ecological Impacts of the Burmese Python). Burmese pythons compete with other organisms and they are winning because they keep overpopulating the Everglades National Park.
Adverse Affects
The Burmese python was brought to the United States and caused many ecological, environmental, and economic problems. The Burmese python has negative ecological impacts on other organisms in the Everglades National Park. The Burmese pythons don’t have many competitors for food therefore the pythons get to eat as many animals as they want and they cause the number of animals to decrease. The decrease in animals is severe because the population of many animals that are natural to the habitat is starting to decrease enormously; this includes Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes. Many animal populations have dropped up to 90 percent and research has shown that one Burmese python can cause huge damage to other organisms (“Ecological Impacts of the Burmese Python”).
Burmese pythons cause environmental problems because they are overpopulating and spreading out more and more in the Everglades. Burmese pythons tend to stay in places with water where there's usually a lot of prey that goes to drink water (How Have Invasive Pythons Impacted Florida Ecosystems?). They stay in the water and in areas where they can camouflage and attack their prey easily. Burmese pythons are competing with Alligators for space since alligators also live near water and they need space to hunt for food. Burmese pythons are taking food, habitat, and space from Alligators, making the python a threat to the Alligator population too.
Burmese pythons were brought to America for the pet trade so people can earn money selling pythons but it turns out Burmese pythons are causing many expensive problems. Getting rid of Burmese pythons is getting expensive because Burmese pythons are overpopulating more and more making it harder to get rid of them. It cost about 17.2 million dollars to get rid of the Burmese python. The reason it costs a lot of money to get rid of Burmese pythons is that they have already impacted other species to the point where they are completely extinct (“How Have Invasive Pythons Impacted Florida Ecosystems?).
Study Control and Eradication
Eliminating the Burmese Pythons is a goal that the government wants to achieve. Not only have the Burmese Pythons impacted negatively the ecosystem and the economy of Florida, but eliminating Burmese Pythons has been a serious problem. The government is working on solutions on how to eliminate Burmese Pythons effectively.
Researchers are using spatial data to track down Burmese Pythons and try to get rid of the pythons. The government has also banned any trade involving living Burmese Pythons including eggs and sperms across the states, and national boundaries (“Ecological Impacts of the Burmese Python”).
To protect the Everglades National Park some organizations teach people how to identify and can kill Burmese pythons if they see one roaming around. “Florida who knows how to identify Burmese pythons,..., capture and humanely kill the snakes” (Burmese Python, Invasive Species Info). Many people in Florida are helping out by eliminating Burmese Pythons while they are competing for thousands of dollars in prizes in the Florida Python Challenge. dedicated to stopping the Burmese python from overpopulating by killing pythons that are in the wild. (“Ecological Impacts of the Burmese Python”). The government is helping eradicate the Burmese Python by hosting a competition that in return gives the contestant prizes. The government has banned any commercial trade involving living Burmese Pythons in hopes it stops the Burmese Python from overpopulating other areas in Florida. The Burmese Python was brought and released in Florida, now is an invasive species and everything is being done to eliminate the Burmese Python from Florida.
Works Cited
“Burmese Python.” Invasive Species Info, National Invasive Species Information Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/vertebrates/burmese -python.
“Burmese Python.”National Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.com/ani mals/reptiles/facts/Burmese-python.
“Ecological Impacts of the Burmese Python.” The World Overlooked: Integrating Science and Art, envhumanities.sites.gettysburg.edu/es225b-spring19/pythons-in-the-Florida-everglades/ecological-impacts-of-the-Burmese-python/.
“How Have Invasive Pythons Impacted Florida Ecosystems?” USGS, United States Geological Survey, www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-have-invasive-pythons-impacted-florida-ecosystem.