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Florida organization sets record for Burmese python captures during latest season

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Published  June 10, 2025 5:58am EDT
Florida
FOX 13 News
Inside look at Burmese python captures in Florida

Inside look at Burmese python captures in Florida

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida shared video giving an inside look at teams tracking and capturing invasive Burmese pythons.

The Brief

    • The Conservancy of Southwest Florida says teams captured 6,300 pounds of invasive snakes this season, setting a record.
    • Burmese pythons are invasive, with experts saying they pose a threat to Florida's ecosystem.
    • The state also offers opportunities year-round to remove invasive pythons.

NAPLES, Fla. - The latest season has been a record-breaker for the capture and removal of Burmese pythons, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

Tracking invasive snakes

By the numbers:

According to the organization, teams captured 6,300 pounds of invasive snakes this season, surpassing the 20-ton mark in a 200-square-mile area stretching from Naples to the Western Everglades dating back to 2013.

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Courtesy: Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

The conservancy says biologists target adult female pythons in an effort to minimize reproduction, adding that 20,000 python eggs have been prevented from hatching since 2013.

Burmese pythons in Florida

Dig deeper:

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says Burmese pythons are among the largest snakes in the world and pose a threat to Florida's ecosystem and native wildlife.

The Burmese python is considered "established" from just south of Lake Okeechobee to Key Largo, and from western Broward County west to Collier County.

Python Huntress Amy Siewe holds an invasive 10-foot Burmese Python during a hunting trip down Tamiami Trail on Sept. 5, 2024, in Miami. The snake was originally caught by her colleague Harold Antonio Rondon-Mena. (D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Python Huntress Amy Siewe holds an invasive 10-foot Burmese Python during a hunting trip down Tamiami Trail on Sept. 5, 2024, in Miami. The snake was originally caught by her colleague Harold Antonio Rondon-Mena. (D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune New

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In 2021, they were among 16 non-native reptiles added to Florida’s Prohibited species list.

What they're saying:

"The Burmese python is decimating native wildlife across their invaded range. Here at the Conservancy, we also rehabilitate thousands of injured native animals in the von Arx Wildlife Hospital and release them back into the wild each year. The python team’s work of reducing the local population of the invasive snake allows our native wildlife safer conditions to recover," Rob Moher, President and CEO of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, said in a statement.

READ: Florida Python Challenge 2025 registration opens

What you can do:

This year's Florida Python Challenge runs from July 11 through July 20. To register, click here.

The state also offers other opportunities year-round to remove invasive pythons. For more details, click here.

FWC says it encourages people to remove and humanely kill pythons from private lands whenever possible, as well.

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The Source: This story was written with information and video from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

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