Socratic Monologue

My understanding is that they chip (usually) males, which lead the researchers/collectors to aggregations of snakes, often females, to be removed. Researchers also track individuals to gain more knowledge on how the snakes use the environment, information that will lead to more productive control strategies than random removals.

For example, from a UFL info sheet:

"University of Florida researchers are using radiotelemetry to determine how pythons are using the habitat and the extent and timing of their movements. This method is also used to find groups of pythons during the breeding season (called “breeding aggregations”). Since December 2005, 17 adult pythons have been captured and surgically implanted with very high frequency (VHF) radio transmitters in ENP and on lands owned by SFWMD. Pythons are tracked daily for a few days after release, and then tracked by plane once a week. To reduce observer influence on python behavior, researchers locate snakes primarily by triangulation (going to three separate locations, marking each point in a global positioning system (GPS), and taking a compass bearing on the signal of the transmitter). Snakes are tracked on the ground during the breeding season to make sure they are healthy and to locate breeding aggregations.
“Judas Snakes”
“Judas snakes” are telemetered pythons that lead researchers to other pythons, which are then captured and euthanized. In the 2006 breeding season, three snakes (one female and two males) were found in association with 15 “new” pythons, and in 2007, two male pythons led to 10 additional snakes. Of the 25 snakes discovered by this method in two years, 19 were captured and removed, and the other six escaped before capture was possible. Following a telemetered female also led to the discovery of the first nest, which confirmed the existence of a breeding population in ENP."