AP

Burmese python hunt in Florida Everglades slated for August

Jun 15, 2022, 10:24 PM | Updated: Jun 16, 2022, 10:27 am

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, holds a Burmese python at a media event, Thursday, June 16, 2022...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, holds a Burmese python at a media event, Thursday, June 16, 2022, where he announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be held Aug 5-14, , in Miami. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. Also pictured are Ron Bergeron, left, McKayla Spencer, second from left, Rodney Barreto, third from right, and Jan Fore, second from right. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)


              Freddy the Friendly Alligator, the mascot for the South Florida Water Management District, sits in the shade at a media event where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be held Aug 5-14, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Miami. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Chairman Rodney Barreto, right, speaks at a media event where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be held Aug 5-14, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Miami. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              A Burmese python is held during a safe capture demonstration where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at a media event that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be held Aug 5-14, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Miami. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              McKayla Spencer, left, and Jan Fore, right, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), demonstrate a safe capture of a Burmese python at a media event where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be held Aug 5-14, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Miami. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a media event, Thursday, June 16, 2022, where he announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be held Aug 5-14, in Miami. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              McKayla Spencer, left, Jan Fore, center, and Sarah Funck, right, all of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), carry a Burmese python at a media event where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be held Aug 5-14, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Miami. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
            
              Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, holds a Burmese python at a media event, Thursday, June 16, 2022, where he announced that registration for the 2022 Florida Python Challenge has opened for the annual 10-day event to be held Aug 5-14, , in Miami. The Python Challenge is intended to engage the public in participating in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal of the Burmese python. Also pictured are Ron Bergeron, left, McKayla Spencer, second from left, Rodney Barreto, third from right, and Jan Fore, second from right. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

MIAMI (AP) — Flanked by a huge writhing snake, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that the annual prize-winning hunt for invasive Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades will begin Aug. 5.

People must register to participate and complete an online training course for the event, which typically draws hundreds from across the country. Last year’s “Python Challenge” involved more than 600 people from 25 states, DeSantis said at a news conference in the Everglades.

Behind the Republican governor, it took three people to hold a live, 10-foot (3-meter) female python as a demonstration. The snakes have virtually no natural enemies in the Everglades and have decimated native populations of mammals, birds and other reptiles.

“These pythons are a threat to the Everglades,” DeSantis said. “Let’s reel in some pythons.”

The hunt begins Aug. 5 at 8 a.m. and ends Aug. 14 at 5 p.m. Prizes include $2,500 for the most pythons captured and $1,500 for the longest snake. Last year, the first-prize winner captured 223 pythons, while the $1,500 winner bagged a snake that was more than 15 feet (4.5 meters) long. Snakes must be killed humanely.

DeSantis said this year’s state budget includes $3 million specifically for python removal in the Everglades, including technology such as infrared sensors to locate the hard-to-see snakes in the wild. A key point of the snake event, the governor said, is to raise awareness about the threat and enable people to take part.

“We view this as a challenge,” he said. “We really wanted to supercharge those efforts.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

2 days ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

2 days ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Burmese python hunt in Florida Everglades slated for August