J Pat Carter/AP
TV crews capture Capt. Jeff Fobb of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Venom Response Unit as he holds a python during the kick-off ceremonies Saturday for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's month-long 'Python Challenge.'
Burmese pythons are now public enemy No. 1 in the Florida Everglades.
State wildlife officials are handing out a $1,500 grand prize to the hunter who can bag the most of them after a month-long contest that began Saturday.
RELATED: HUNTERS TARGET EVERGLADES' BURMESE PYTHONS IN SOUTH FLORIDA PYTHON CHALLENGE
Almost 800 people have signed up for the first-ever "Python Challenge," with the majority just average citizens who would normally lack the permits to legally eradicate the invasive species, organizers said.
?If there is a tactic, I don?t know it,? would-be hunter Steve Martinez told CBS 4 Miami. ?We?re just out here to have a little fun.?
Nick Wiley, executive director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said it doesn't take an expert tracker to catch the creatures.
?It?s very safe, getting out in the Everglades," he said, according to The Associated Press. "People do it all the time.?
The state is desperately trying to pare down the number of Burmese pythons, which are native to Asia, after seeing the adult snakes becoming top predators in the Everglades and disturbing its ecosystem. The number of pythons in the area hasn?t been determined.
It remains prohibited in Florida to own the creatures as pets, and their interstate sale is banned under federal law.
Burmese pythons have been spotted in the Everglades since the 1980s, but state officials speculate they blossomed after escaping a breeding facility damaged during Hurricane Andrew.
Finding even one of the snakes ? known for their blotches similar to those on a giraffe?s body ? can prove difficult in the vast wetlands of South Florida. The snakes? dark and tan colors allow them to seamlessly slither in their surroundings.
?It?s advantage-snake,? mechanical engineer Dan Keenan said after slashing his way through a quarter-mile of scratchy sawgrass, dried leaves and woody overgrowth near a campsite in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 50 miles southeast of Naples.
The recommended method for killing pythons is the same for killing zombies: a gunshot to the brain, or decapitation to reduce the threat. (The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals doesn't approve of the latter method, though.)
Justin Matthews, 55, a wildlife rescuer from Manatee County, told the Orlando Sentinel he plans to give the creatures a swift death.
?I grab him behind the head and stick the knife through his brain,? he said. ?End it quickly.?
RELATED: 'MONSTROUS' 17-FOOT PYTHON DISCOVERED IN FLORIDA EVERGLADES
Another hunter, Warren Geffre, of Naples, told the Sentinel he brought an arsenal of weapons to aid in his search, including a .380-caliber pistol, a .40-caliber pistol, a 12-gauge pump shotgun and a 20-inch machete.
Besides a reward for killing the most Burmese pythons, $1,000 will go to the hunter who stalks the longest snake.
The largest Burmese python in the Everglades National Park was found last year, measuring 164-1/2 pounds and 17-1/2 feet long. It also was pregnant with 87 eggs.
?They were here 25 years ago, but in very low numbers and it was difficult to find one because of their cryptic behavior,? Kenneth Krysko, of the Florida Museum of Natural History, said at the time. ?Now, you can go out to the Everglades nearly any day of the week and find a Burmese python."
The Python Challenge ends at midnight Feb. 10.
With News Wire Services
eortiz@nydailynews.com
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Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/news/~3/xhboQ_XHvWI/story01.htm
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