Hurricane Andrew caused the invasive Python problem in FLA.

Florida was not home to Pythons, yet it is now wrapped up with them. The cause was due to breeders in Homestead who's snakes were inadvertently released when the hurricane hit.

The category 5 winds flattened the town of Homestead, including hatcheries and pet dealers where the new-borns were incubated in small plastic food storage cups and bowls in exposed areas. The babies are thought to have been blown into the neighbouring Everglades where survivors started breeding. Most pythons caught or found dead there in recent years had very similar DNA, bolstering the theory.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

So during a major hurricane, there are many problems that can come from such a storm, and some take years to manifest, as was the case here.
Now, snake hunting is a big thing.

More than 600 people have signed up for the Python Challenge, according to Carli Segelson, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which organized the event. A cash prize goes to the hunter who captures -- dead or alive -- the most Burmese pythons, as well as one for the longest one. Why? Because the Burmese python, which can be as large as 23 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds, doesn't belong in the Everglades, in Florida -- or even in this hemisphere for that matter. The native Southeast Asian snake is "wreaking havoc on one of America's most beautiful, treasured and naturally bountiful ecosystems," U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt said of the 1.5-million-acre Everglades National Park in a 2012 report. "Right now, the only hope to halt further python invasion into new areas is swift, decisive and deliberate human action." But that is no easy feat; the unwelcome guests are thriving in the habitat and climate provided by the Everglades.

www.cnn.com...

Just a reminder since it looks as if Andrew's cousin is stopping back for a beer. be safe and snake free.

They were already in the glades in the 80's before Andrew.

This is VERY OLD NEWS.

I'm sure stuff like that happened, also read that how there are wild monkeys too.

But people have been releasing pythons on purpose or accident for years in Florida.

They get them they get too big and they release them. and its a perfect habitat to grow and breed, and the little ones have less natural predators.

I'm pretty sure a lot of the python problem is because people discard them into the everglades when they get tired of them. They don't have a real natural predator, so they can flourish.

People shouldn't be able to own large reptiles as pets. Sure, have a corn snake cool, but you don't need a damn snake that can eat a full grown man.

originally posted by: eXia7
I'm pretty sure a lot of the python problem is because people discard them into the everglades when they get tired of them. They don't have a real natural predator, so they can flourish.

People shouldn't be able to own large reptiles as pets. Sure, have a corn snake cool, but you don't need a damn snake that can eat a full grown man.

To each their own. But death is more like to come from it constricting than eating a full grown man. More people have died from dog attacks than being consumed by a python.

a reply to: network dude

People let stuff go too. We have everything short of comodo dragons down here. Anacondas, iguanas, baboons, you name it.

originally posted by: Lurker1
This is VERY OLD NEWS.

Yes....it is. And another massive hurricane, much like the one that did this, is on it's way to the same location.
Which is what prompted the thread. I promise if you feel you lost anything due to this thread, you are entitled to a full refund. I'll have the staff send you a check for full reimbursement of all your payments.

originally posted by: putnam6
I'm sure stuff like that happened, also read that how there are wild monkeys too.

But people have been releasing pythons on purpose or accident for years in Florida.

They get them they get too big and they release them. and its a perfect habitat to grow and breed, and the little ones have less natural predators.

The uptick in "skunk ape" sightings really took off after Andrew.
Just a bunch of dreaded wild chimps and orangutans.
Another reason to avoid Florida.

a reply to: the owlbear
Yeap. I live in the woods and it is not odd for us to have a chimp sighting every now and again.

I almost freaked out when I was refilling my bird feeder and found myself suddenly shadowed by an object in the sky above me that seemed at the moment to be a very low flying airplane, but it turned out to be an owl. I never knew owls got that big.

We have Jesus Lizards that look like mini dinosaurs. Florida is a sister to Australia. Don't be surprised at anything you find down here.

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn
a reply to: the owlbear
Yeap. I live in the woods and it is not odd for us to have a chimp sighting every now and again.

I almost freaked out when I was refilling my bird feeder and found myself suddenly shadowed by an object in the sky above me that seemed at the moment to be a very low flying airplane, but it turned out to be an owl. I never knew owls got that big.

We have Jesus Lizards that look like mini dinosaurs. Florida is a sister to Australia. Don't be surprised at anything you find down here.

Zombies hepped up on bath salts, huge pythons, gators, skunk apes, retirees...
I hear the keys are nice, but I'm afraid of hearing Jimmy Buffet nonstop (children's music for adults).