Pythons Apparently Wiping Out Everglades Mammals

Salazar is pushing his agenda as much as possible.

http://news.yahoo.com/pythons-appare...201541112.html

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A burgeoning population of huge pythons — many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big — appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says.

The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sightings of medium-size mammals are down dramatically — as much as 99 percent, in some cases — in areas where pythons and other large, non-native constrictor snakes are known to be lurking.

Scientists fear the pythons could disrupt the food chain and upset the Everglades' environmental balance in ways difficult to predict.

"The effects of declining mammal populations on the overall Everglades ecosystem, which extends well beyond the national park boundaries, are likely profound," said John Willson, a research scientist at Virginia Tech University and co-author of the study.

Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the warm, humid climate. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and have been reproducing ever since.

Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds, and they have been known to swallow animals as large as alligators. They and other constrictor snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it.

The National Park Service has counted 1,825 Burmese pythons that have been caught in and around Everglades National Park since 2000. Among the largest so far was a 156-pound, 16.4-foot one captured earlier this month.

For the study, researchers drove 39,000 miles along Everglades-area roads from 2003 through 2011, counting wildlife spotted along the way and comparing the results with surveys conducted on the same routes in 1996 and 1997.

The researchers found staggering declines in animal sightings: a drop of 99.3 percent among raccoons, 98.9 percent for opossums, 94.1 percent for white-tailed deer and 87.5 percent for bobcats. Along roads where python populations are believed to be smaller, declines were lower but still notable.

Rabbits and foxes, which were commonly spotted in 1996 and 1997, were not seen at all in the later counts. Researchers noted slight increases in coyotes, Florida panthers, rodents and other mammals, but discounted that finding because so few were spotted overall.

"The magnitude of these declines underscores the apparent incredible density of pythons in Everglades National Park," said Michael Dorcas, a professor at Davidson College in North Carolina and lead author of the study.

Although scientists cannot definitively say the pythons are killing off the mammals, the snakes are the prime suspect. The increase in pythons coincides with the mammals' decrease, and the decline appears to grow in magnitude with the size of the snakes' population in an area. A single disease appears unlikely to be the cause since several species were affected.

The report says the effect on the overall ecosystem is hard to predict. Declines among bobcats and foxes, which eat rabbits, could be linked to pythons' feasting on rabbits. On the flip side, declines among raccoons, which eat eggs, may help some turtles, crocodiles and birds.

Scientists point with concern to what happened in Guam, where the invasive brown tree snake has killed off birds, bats and lizards that pollinated trees and flowers and dispersed seeds. That has led to declines in native trees, fish-eating birds and certain plants.

In 2010, Florida banned private ownership of Burmese pythons. Earlier this month, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a federal ban on the import of Burmese pythons and three other snakes.

Salazar said Monday that the study shows why such restrictions were needed.

"This study paints a stark picture of the real damage that Burmese pythons are causing to native wildlife and the Florida economy," he said.

I can't take the comments.
Too many ignorant stupid people out there.
The reptile community is under attack by idiots who have no idea what they are talking about and are just spreading crap!

I dont think, or at least I hope, that anyone here would disagree that in florida, these snakes have become a problem. However the real problem is that when the media or officials bring it up, they dont bother to mention that this is a special case and that these species do not pose a threat to most of the country. In addition to that, the so called solutions they propose, does nothing to actually help the problem. Instead of educating people, or themselves for that matter about these snakes, they would rather just strike fear into everyone and convince people that the only option is to ban them.

ridiculous!

Plus, didn't they teach anyone about natural cycles of prey/predators - the prey numbers go down and even they note " Researchers noted slight increases in coyotes, Florida panthers," so how is only the fault of the snakes?

And tens of thousands? I thought they used to report is as a few thousand, the number gets higher every news story.. Even in the FWS final rule report it only says "Thousands of Burmese pythons are now established in the Everglades" not tens of...

Not to mention that study suggests these snakes became established because of Hurricane Andrew. The likelihood of these snakes becoming established because of released snakes was pretty low. I'm sure released snakes are not helping the situation now since a wild population is already established. Not to get too political, but I'll be happy when we get the next round of politicians. There is no hope with the current people in power (although there probably isn't much hope with new ones either).

my dad just sent me this "Some guy from Florida on my forum was just talking about how there is a wild hog population explosion in central Florida and they are considering adding them to the invasive species list so they can let the hunters eradicate them. I posted they just need to import a few million adult African pythons and the situation would take care of itself."

Doh!

I wrote my Senator and this is the reply that I received:

Dear Andrew,



Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the treatment of animals. Animals are an important part of many people's lives and families. Animals often provide companionship and happiness to their owners. Trained dogs can provide services for people with disabilities, guard our homes and even perform heroic feats.



I agree that we should work to protect animals from cruelty and a nimal safety effor ts must be approached sensibly. I believe that private organizations and non-profits are in the best position to continue efforts to protect animal. Organizations such as the Humane Society of America and the American Society for the Prevention and Cruelty of Animals (ASPCA). should be applau ded for their accomplishments In addition to private organizations and non-profits, I believe that state and local governments are best equipped to handle animal related issues, they are closest to each situation in addition to having flexibility to meet their community's needs. As animal issues come before the Senate floor regarding federal policy, I will certainly keep your views in mind.



Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts . It is important for me to hear the views and concerns of the people I serve. Since taking office, I have received over 300,000 pieces of correspondence and have had over 150,000 people participate in live forums and telephone town hall meetings. Please feel free to contact me in the future if I can further assist you or your family. It is an honor representing you and the good people of Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate.


Notice the lack of mention of the animal (snakes) that I was writing about. And the lack of any USARK mention as well. Next time he is in my area I will be attending the town hall meeting.

COMMENT I DID SHOW THEM WE HAVE NUMBERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BS!!!!

yahoo news commenters are generally lame, I'm always seeing the stupidest comments on there

it'll usually turn into dumb comments about illegals or how it's all the liberals fault..

oh look, there are already tons of those comments on the snake story (sheesh)

I used to comment but they just enrage me

I'm not an expert on this subject by any means but I listened to Andrew Wyatt from USARK talk on reptile radio. The show aired Janaury 25th, 2012 and if you haven't heard it yet you might be able to find it online. Bottom line of the show was it's too late for petitions, calling your states representative, and finding celebrities to back our side. At this point a federal lawsuit is the only thing that could stop the Python Ban. The cost of such a lawsuit is $150,000 and USARK needs donations now if they are to move forward with the lawsuit to stop the ban. You can donate as little as $10 at USARK.org and if all the outraged reptile lovers like me donate what they can we should be able to help USARK raise the money no problem. Many large breeders are contributing over a $1,000 or holding auctions to help support USARK now but everyone is going to have to help with what they can afford if we are to have any chance of reversing this ban. USARK is the reason that only 4 species are on the ban and they proved that the science provided regarding pythons was not science at all. Talking to these people that want constrictors banned is a waste of time in my opinion. The leaders of the group know it's false science because they're the ones that paif for it. Please donate to USARK so they can continue the fight that's been going on for over 10 years! Thx for reading!