COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — Coming across one python may be shocking enough for the average person, but what about 11 of them?
That's what one team of trackers experienced after finding the snakes in two mating balls on February 21 at a marsh in Collier County.
According to an article from the Miami Herald, a group with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida found the pythons as part of their mission to remove invasive species and proof their radio-telemetry program.
The 11 apex predators— with one being over 16 feet long — weighed a total of 500 pounds, according to the report.
“It’s probably most people’s worst nightmare, but for us, it’s a good day. It’s a win for native wildlife,” said Ian Bartoszek, the conservancy’s science coordinator, in a statement.
In a Facebook post, the conservancy explained that Florida is home to thousands of non-native species that cause economic, social or ecological disturbance when they consistently reproduce.
“For 10 years, we’ve been catching and putting them [Burmese pythons] down humanely. You can’t put them in zoos and send them back to Southeast Asia. Invasive species management doesn’t end with rainbows and kittens. These are remarkable creatures, here through no fault of their own. They are impressive animals, good at what they do,” Bartoszek said in the post.
The Miami Herald explains that one of the mounds discovered had five males weighing around 30 pounds, along with a 14-foot, 85-pound female. The other mating ball included two males weighing around 45 pounds with a 16-foot, 125-pound female.
Through early 2024, the conservancy has removed more than 1,300 pythons from a 150-square-mile area near Naples, according to the report. That reportedly equates to 35,000 pounds of snake, or more than 17 tons.
The breeding season window for capturing pythons runs from November to April.
