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Florida trappers step up efforts, catch 3,600 pythons

The removal of some 1,000 snakes compliments the more than 2,600 pythons removed by the SFWMD's Python Elimination Program.
Credit: Governor's Press Office
Tom Rahill is credited for capturing the 1,000th python.

MIAMI — More than 3,600 Burmese pythons have been captured in Florida under an effort to control the invasive species that wildlife officials say is choking the delicate Everglades ecosystem.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday the Python Action Team had removed 1,000 pythons from the wild. That's on top of the 2,600 removed by the state's python elimination program, which recruits hunters from around the state. Both programs began in 2017.

Last month, a trapper on the action team caught a record-setting python. The 18-foot, 4-inch-long female weighed 98 pounds and 10 ounces. Wildlife officials say it was the largest ever captured at the Big Cypress National Preserve.

RELATED: Huge 18-foot python breaks records

RELATED: Florida is hiring twice as many python hunters to get rid of the invasive snakes

Experts say pythons have eliminated 99% of the native Everglades mammals including rabbits, bobcats and foxes, decimating food sources for native panthers and alligators.

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