Giant Snakes, Giant Problem?

Burmese python in Everglades National Park. Photo by Roy Wood, National Park Service.

In recent years, media and other reports of non-native, giant constrictor snakes found in both wild and urbanized areas of southern Florida is raising alarms. Several snake species are known or suspected to be breeding and appear to be spreading northward. The Fort Collins Science Center, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other cooperators are collaborating on research and testing intervention methods to understand and control these novel predators. A new Web feature, Giant Constrictor Snakes in Florida: A Sizeable Research Challenge, describes this research and links to more information and other efforts to educate the public and protect native ecosystems. A newly published USGS report, Giant Constrictors: Biological and Management Profiles and an Establishment Risk Assessment for Nine Large Species of Pythons, Anacondas, and the Boa Constrictor, authored by FORT scientists Robert Reed and Gordon Rodda, describes in more detail the biology of these large snake species and potential environmental risks should they become established in the United States.

For more information contact: Gordon Rodda

Giant Snakes, Giant Problem?

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