Python hunt! 800 compete to remove Florida’s invasive snakes

MIAMI

More than 800 competitors will be trudging through the Florida Everglades for the next eight days, in search of invasive Burmese pythons that will bring in thousands of dollars in prize money. The python hunt officially began Friday morning. It runs through 5 p.m. on Aug. 15. Officials who gathered in Miami to kick off the annual campaign say it’s significant because the non native snakes are killing off birds and mammals in the Everglades ecosystem. More than 17,000 pythons have been removed since 2000, but females can lay up to 100 eggs a year. Cash prizes up to $2,500 are available for the most and the largest pythons hauled in.