They've been called the serial killers of the south. Burmese Pythons are invading and devouring the Florida Everglades.
The startling rise in sightings and captures of Burmese Pythons in the Everglades has grabbed national headlines. It's also gotten the attention of local scientists, like Virginia Tech researcher JD Willson.
"Over 1,500 have been removed, mostly from Everglades National Park, in the last five years," said Willson. "And we know that's just a drop in the bucket. They're only becoming more and more common."
Willson is one of several authors of a new study, which details the impact these huge snakes are having on the Everglade's ecosystem.
"This is the first study to show that it's really having a measurable impact, and it's a substantial impact on the native wildlife," said Wilson. "But what the far reaching consequences of those impacts are, we have no idea."
The Burmese Pythons are native to Asia, but have been popular pets in America for decades. Researchers speculate that some snake-owners release the pythons once they get too big to keep. Burmese Pythons can get up to nearly 20 feet long, weighing 170 pounds, and eat prey as big as a deer or alligator.
"They're so widespread that it's going to be tough to eradicate them from the area," said Willson of the problem in the Everglades. "But that doesn't mean we can't do anything."
Scientists have found ways to capture the snakes, and are working hard to keep them away from residential neighborhoods and certain endangered species, but it's a problem Willson says isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
