Burmese Pythons in the Everglades

By Everglades Godfather · October 11, 2026 · 5 min read

Of all the animals in the Everglades, the one that does not belong may be the most talked about. The Burmese python, a giant constrictor native to Southeast Asia, now lives and breeds across much of South Florida. It is one of the most serious threats the ecosystem faces, and one of the hardest to solve. Here is how it got here, what scientists have learned about its impact, and what is being done.

How pythons got into the Everglades

Burmese pythons arrived through the exotic pet trade. For decades they were imported and sold as pets, and some of those snakes ended up in the wild, either escaping or being released by owners who could no longer care for an animal that can grow longer than a car. The National Park Service notes the snakes were first documented as an established, breeding population in Everglades National Park in 2000.

Some researchers and officials believe Hurricane Andrew, which struck South Miami-Dade in 1992, may have added to the problem by damaging facilities that held captive reptiles. That theory is widely repeated but hard to prove. What is clear is that South Florida offered pythons everything they needed: warm weather, abundant water, plenty of prey and almost no natural predators to control a large adult snake.

A snake built for the job

Burmese pythons are among the largest snakes on Earth. Adults in Florida are routinely longer than a person is tall, and the longest documented there, caught in 2023 in the Big Cypress area, measured just over 19 feet. Pythons are not venomous. They ambush prey, grab it with backward-curving teeth and kill it by constriction.

They are also extremely hard to find. Their blotched brown and tan pattern disappears into sawgrass, tree islands and canal banks, and they spend much of their time hidden. Researchers who track tagged pythons say even experienced searchers can easily miss a snake lying close by. That camouflage is a big reason no one knows exactly how many are out there. Population estimates vary widely, and most experts are cautious about giving a single number.

What pythons are doing to native wildlife

Pythons eat mammals, birds and reptiles, and the National Park Service notes they occasionally take alligators. The best-known evidence of their impact comes from a 2012 study led by Michael Dorcas and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, with U.S. Geological Survey scientists among the authors.

The researchers compared nighttime road surveys in Everglades National Park from before 2000, when mammals were often seen, with surveys from 2003 to 2011, after pythons had spread. In the later surveys, sightings of raccoons were down 99.3 percent, opossums 98.9 percent and bobcats 87.5 percent. Marsh and cottontail rabbits were not seen at all. Mammals were more common in areas where pythons had arrived more recently and most common outside the python's range.

Road surveys have limits, and the study showed a strong pattern rather than a perfect head count. But later research has added to the picture, and most scientists who study the Everglades agree that pythons have sharply reduced many medium-sized mammals in the parts of the ecosystem they occupy. Losing those animals ripples outward, affecting everything from the predators that eat them to the plants and nests they once kept in check.

How Florida is fighting back

Wiping out pythons completely is not considered realistic with current tools. The goal is to remove as many as possible, protect key areas and slow their spread. Several programs work together.

• Contracted removal. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District pay trained contractors to hunt pythons. FWC reports that these contractors have removed more than 19,000 pythons since 2017.
• The Florida Python Challenge. This 10-day public competition each summer raises awareness and trains people to find and remove pythons. The 2026 event drew 907 participants and removed 280 pythons, according to FWC.
• Public removal. Florida allows pythons to be humanely killed on private land with the landowner's permission, and removal is allowed year-round on many state-managed lands.
• Research. Scientists, including teams at USGS and the University of Florida, are testing detector dogs, radio-tagged scout snakes that lead searchers to other pythons during breeding season, and other tools to make removal more efficient.

Altogether, FWC says nearly 28,000 wild Burmese pythons have been removed from Florida and reported to the agency since 2000. That is a large number, but it is likely only a fraction of the total population.

What visitors should do

The chance of seeing a python on a visit is fairly low, simply because they hide so well. If you do spot one, keep your distance. Even though they are not venomous, a large python can deliver a painful bite, and handling one is a job for trained people.

• Note the location as precisely as you can and take a photo if it is safe.
• Report it to FWC's Invasive Species Hotline at 888-483-4681, online at IveGot1.org, or through the IveGot1 app.
• In Everglades National Park, you can also tell a ranger.

The most important step happens far from the swamp. Never release a pet reptile, or any nonnative animal, into the wild. It is illegal in Florida, and it is how this problem started. FWC runs an Exotic Pet Amnesty Program that helps owners rehome nonnative pets they can no longer keep, free of charge and for any reason.

The python story is a reminder that the Everglades is fragile. There is only one, and protecting it means keeping out animals that never belonged here.