Local wildlife disappears as giant pythons swamp Florida

[Morg]

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/a...ant-pythons-swamp-florida-20120131-1qrez.html

IT SOUNDED like a joke when the news first broke in 2000: giant Burmese pythons were invading the Everglades. But scientists have measured the impact of the arrival of this voracious species and the news is troubling.

In areas where the pythons have established themselves, rabbits and foxes can no longer be found. Sightings of raccoons are down 99 per cent, opossums 98.9 per cent and white-tailed deer 94 per cent, according to a paper published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

''What if the stock market had declined that much? Think of the adjectives you'd use for that,'' said Gordon Rodda, an invasive-species specialist with the US Geological Survey, who published research in 2008 showing Burmese pythons could expand across the southern United States.
Advertisement: Story continues below

''Pythons are wreaking havoc on one of America's most beautiful, treasured and naturally bountiful ecosystems,'' the USGS Director, Marcia McNutt, said.

Burmese pythons are native to south-east Asia, but accidental and deliberate release of snakes kept as pets in Florida have allowed them to find a new home there. They can grow up to 5 metres and weigh up to 68 kilograms. The first reports of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades began in the 1980s; a breeding population was confirmed there in 2000.

Since then, the numbers of pythons sighted and captured in the Everglades have risen dramatically. According to Linda Friar of the Everglades National Park, personnel have captured or killed 1825 pythons since 2000. Now researchers have shown that just as python populations established themselves, the native mammals of the regions began to decline - severely.

People who worked in the Everglades knew they were seeing fewer mammals, but only the hard numbers made it clear just how devastating the decline is.

''These were once very common animals in the Everglades and now they're gone,'' Michael Dorcas, a professor of biology at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, and lead author on the paper, said.

The pythons aren't a danger to humans. The only known python attacks on humans in Florida have involved snakes kept as pets. Now coyotes and Florida panthers are believed to be affected, as well as birds and alligators.

Although scientists can't say conclusively the decline in mammals is a result of python activity, there's good anecdotal evidence. ''Last October, we found a 15-foot snake with an 80-pound doe inside it,'' Professor Dorcas said.

The researchers base their findings on systematic night road surveys done in the Everglades that counted live and road-killed animals.

These snakes are ''notoriously hard to find and very secretive'', Professor Dorcas said. Because much of south Florida is a wilderness, the possibility of exterminating or suppressing them doesn't seem promising. ''It's an ecological mess, and exactly what's going to happen down the road remains to be seen,'' he said.

On January 23, the US Fish and Wildlife Service started the paperwork to ban the importation and interstate transportation of Burmese pythons, northern and southern African pythons and yellow anaconda because they threaten the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems

 

[Wolfwood]

It was too long to read, I'll just wait for the SyFy movie of the week.

 

[Spider-Vader]

This pisses me off so much. These animals should have never been in the country in the first place. It's wrong to keep wild animals as pets & now it's f***ing up the whole state.

Plus, snakes are stupid ass pets anyway. OOOH! They sit there & look creepy, such great pets! -_-

 

[Marvolo]

Animals like these should not be imported except for study or zoos. Perhaps they can be and I missed that bit. This is sad.

 

[enterthemadness]

Man-Thing will take care of this...after all he's in Florida...

 

[Mace Bloodstone]

Big sale on snakeskin boots soon!

 

[Marx]

Snakes creep me the hell out! I agree with Spider-Vader above, these snakes should never have been in the country in the first place let alone be allowed to be kept as HOUSE pets.

 

[Speedball]

While I don't have a fear of snakes and am quite fond of them, I think it's really irresponsible for these pet owners to just let them go. It's not their natural environment and SOMEHOW needs to be resolved. This is one case where i'd be okay with hunting, if it's to protect the other wild life.

 

[Marx]

I just don't understand how the problem could ever truly be dealt with. The article says that pythons in particular are very good at hiding...

It is considered a criminal act for anyone to release these snakes into the everglades, isn't it?

 

[Speedball]

If it isn't, it should be. But I can see it very tough to enforce. I think you'd have to have a witness seeing you release it or documentation of the animal itself (which there should be), but buying animals on the black market isn't that hard really.

 

[SuperFerret]

"Exotic" pets may not be technically domesticated, but that doesn't necessarily make them "wild". Nevermind that that's a separate issue than the one at hand.

Yes, these animals are an invasive species. Yes, the Everglades are a fragile ecosystem. Yes, this is causing a problem. But, in this type of situation, I have one (highly controversial) question:

Is this really such a bad thing? Species have been upsetting ecosystems for ages, so this is nothing new. Really, it's just feather-ruffling all those people who see nature as a separate thing that can't (or shouldn't) change.

 

[Hobgoblin]

So because invasive species have been disrupting nature for a long time, its ok? Nature should be allowed to change as little as possible on its own.


I say open season on pythons.

 

[SuperFerret]

Key words: "On it's own". They imply a separation that is only imagined. Ruffled feathers.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I think its more about taking responsibility for our actions and cleaning up an artificial mess.

 

[SuperFerret]

"Artificial". Also implying separation. Somebody's been told he's special.



Are we getting what I'm saying here? Or do we have to keep going? **** happens. Mistakes were made, and this is going to upset that ecosystem, but it's only a negative when viewed through the perspective of someone who doesn't understand how the real world works. It's gonna suck for a bunch of species, and it wouldn't have happened if one species wasn't around, but it's essentially neutral. A balance will be achieved eventually. Life will find a way, so to speak.

 

[THE MR. TERRIFIC]

I've seen this on Discovery. People make a lot of $ capturing these things now.

 

[NHawk19]

If zoos or other entities want these animals permits should be required.

No we just have to authorize the hunting of the animals.

 

[Erzengel]

They said a lot of pythons entered the Everglades when Katrina came into town and took down some of the pet stores.

 

[marcvader]

They're there because of irresponsible pet owners.

 

[Hobgoblin]

"Artificial". Also implying separation. Somebody's been told he's special.



Are we getting what I'm saying here? Or do we have to keep going? **** happens. Mistakes were made, and this is going to upset that ecosystem, but it's only a negative when viewed through the perspective of someone who doesn't understand how the real world works. It's gonna suck for a bunch of species, and it wouldn't have happened if one species wasn't around, but it's essentially neutral. A balance will be achieved eventually. Life will find a way, so to speak.

Meh, I'm still not impressed.

 

[Micromind]

"Artificial". Also implying separation. Somebody's been told he's special.



Are we getting what I'm saying here? Or do we have to keep going? **** happens. Mistakes were made, and this is going to upset that ecosystem, but it's only a negative when viewed through the perspective of someone who doesn't understand how the real world works. It's gonna suck for a bunch of species, and it wouldn't have happened if one species wasn't around, but it's essentially neutral. A balance will be achieved eventually. Life will find a way, so to speak.

It is a matter of predatory species not native at a particular environment going after other species that are not accustomed to them.

For example, bird Dodo became extinct in Australia as it was hunted down by humans (who can be assumed as predators, in this case.), it was not accustomed to the sudden attacks by new predators and was not prepared for it, it is certainly not natural.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

Yeah, I've had some issues with animal disappearances too.

Anyway, for a few days in a row out of the month I always wake up in strange places in the woods. Naked, and I have blood all over my mouth and chest. Next to me is a dead animal, usually a deer. Its all torn apart and half eaten. Think its because I have big pythons?

 

[SuperMike335!!]

Well, its well known that you put an animal in the wrong place, and bad stuff happens. Nile Perch in lake Victoria, and those ****ing caine toads and rabbits in Oz.

 

[Raiden]

I think the government should encourage hunters to hunt pythons, and to make use of their skin for fashion and other purposes. If they want to restore the ecosystem back to what it once was, they must find ways to decrease the python population significantly. Also, they must pass laws to forbid citizens from owning pythons under any circumstances.

 

[NHawk19]

They said a lot of pythons entered the Everglades when Katrina came into town and took down some of the pet stores.

umm Katrina was only a small category 1 / tropical storm when it crossed Florida.