Back around the turn of the century, some genius with a Burmese python realized his chosen pet was a lot more difficult to manage than a goldfish, so he dumped it in the Everglades. Meanwhile, another genius discovered the same thing and also released his or her Burmese python in the Everglades, and — voila! — by 2003, biologists with the park service confirmed an established breeding population of a 20-foot, 300-lb. snake.
But it gets better: See all the green space on the map? According to a new USGS survey, that represents the area of our country that climatically matches the python's historical range from Pakistan to Indonesia. Burmese pythons have already been spotted north and east of the Everglades, so it seems like only a matter of time before these highly adaptable reptiles spread even more.
Unsurprisingly, global warming could play a big part in the invasive animals' spread. Click through to see another USGS projection of the python's suitable range in 100 years:
So roughly one-third of the U.S. will be perfect for giant snakes. Great. Makes the whole idea of a Mason-Dixon line that much more appealing, now that the whole southern U.S. will be filled with enormous, predatory constrictors. (On the other hand, yappy dogs will be less of a problem).
"Wildlife managers are concerned that these snakes, which can grow to over 20 feet long and more than 250 pounds, pose a danger to state- and federally listed threatened and endangered species as well as to humans," said Bob Reed, a USGS wildlife biologist at the Fort Collins Science Center in Colorado, who helped develop the maps. "Several endangered species," he noted, "have already been found in the snakes' stomachs. Pythons could have even more significant environmental and economic consequences if they were to spread from Florida to other states."
The USGS and Everglades National Park will undergo a risk assessment study to be completed in 2009, but it's unknown what measures might be taken to blot out a tenacious invasive species that has already put down roots on Florida soil. If you've got grandparents in Miami, visit them now, before they start complaining about how "the pythons are just awful this year."
USGS Maps Show Potential Non-Native Python Habitat Along Three U.S. Coasts (USGS)
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