So do the North African and South African Rock pythons along with the anaconda.Ĭompounding the concern is that the African Rock's have a particularly nasty temperament, and they prefer larger game than the Burmese. The Burmese has a strong presence in the area. As of December, 2010, it's believed that over 30,000 of these alien species are living in Florida Everglades. From 2000 to 2010 almost 1,700 Burmese pythons were captured in the area. Since the 1970's, these invasive Everglades snakes have been living in theĮverglades National Park. This means that the Florida wildlife in these areas will soon be impacted negatively as well. However, these invasive snakes have begun to migrate outside the bounds of the Everglades park to areas like Cypress National Preserve, Collier-Seminole State Park, Chekika, Immokalee, Corbett Wildlife Management Area and Wading birds are also at great risk and have been found in the stomachs of these constrictors.Ĭurrently, the Florida wildlife that border the Everglades National Park have not yet been affected to any large degree by the presence of these invasive snakes.
Possum, rabbit, bobcat, fox and deer numbers have also been severely depleted. Raccoons were once considered a major nuisance in the Everglades National Park and now they're rarely encountered. Bob Reed, noted Wildlife Research biologist, sent us a copy of the Everglades mammal decline report he co-authored entitled, "Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park." This bodes poorly for not just these species but for the ones that are on the endangered species list. Once prolific species of Florida wildlife have been substantially reduced in numbers to the point that some were not documented in the roadkill survey at all. Unfortunately the report results were shocking. Roadkill numbers gathered over the years before these invasive snakes had a firm grip on the Florida Everglades were compared to recent roadkill surveys. It shows the top-down affect these apex predators are having on the Florida wildlife in the Everglades National Park.
Anything that upsets this fragile blend of perfection can have devastating consequences.Ī recent study, based upon a systematically monitored roadkill program, is a true eye opener. In the Florida Keys, the ecosystem is already balancing on a tightrope.