news.yahoo.com...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A burgeoning population of huge pythons — many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got
too big — appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says.
Get a load of the size of one of the snakes they caught back in 2009
The above is a 162 pound Burmese python that was captured in the Everglades
The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sightings of medium-size mammals are down
dramatically — as much as 99 percent, in some cases — in areas where pythons and other large, non-native constrictor snakes are known to be
lurking.
Wow! Some are down 99%? That's horrible. The article says that it is difficult to predict what this means for the Everglades ecosystem in the future.
Im not sure what will happen either. My guesses are that the python population will continue to grow, while their food sources dwindle even more and
more.
Apparently, there are supposed to be tens of thousands of these pythons living in the area.
Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the
warm, humid climate. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and
have been reproducing ever since.
What really gets me, is that some people who own these snakes, are just letting them go into the wild. They're not native to the area! Yes I know
accidents happen, but im talking about the intentional release. If you dont know how to take care of a pet, dont get one!
Anyways, here's some more info on these pythons.
Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds, and they have been known to swallow animals as large as alligators. They and
other constrictor snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it.
And here's some more stats about the biggest declines in mammal populations
The researchers found staggering declines in animal sightings: a drop of 99.3 percent among raccoons, 98.9 percent for opossums, 94.1 percent for
white-tailed deer and 87.5 percent for bobcats. Along roads where python populations are believed to be smaller, declines were lower but still
notable.
Rabbits and foxes, which were commonly spotted in 1996 and 1997, were not seen at all in the later counts. Researchers noted slight increases in
coyotes, Florida panthers, rodents and other mammals, but discounted that finding because so few were spotted overall.
edit on 30-1-2012
by buni11687 because: (no reason given)
edit on 30-1-2012 by buni11687 because: (no reason given)
