Can Burmese Pythons swim from the Everglades to the Florida Keys?

The Burmese python is now distributed across more than a thousand square miles of southern Florida from coast to coast. This includes Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area, Big Cypress National Preserve, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand...

Free-ranging, non-native reptiles representing dozens of species from around the world escape or are illegally released in the United States every year. Many of these species fail to establish reproductive populations, but some are successful. Florida is a major transportation hub and has a climate that is suitable for many invasive species across taxonomic groups. Due to the suitable climate, and...

It is incredibly difficult to estimate the true population numbers of Burmese pythons in South Florida. Burmese pythons can survive in and utilize a variety of habitats found in the region, and many of these areas are difficult to access and effectively survey. Conservatively, tens of thousands of invasive Burmese pythons are estimated to be present in the Greater Everglades region. Learn More...

If you see a python in the wild – or suspect that a snake is a python or an invasive snake – you should take the same precautions for these constrictor snakes as one would take for any wildlife: avoid interacting with or getting close to them. If you are in Everglades National Park, you can report a python sighting to a park ranger. You can also report the animal via the “Ive Got 1” reporting...

Non-native Burmese pythons have established a breeding population in South Florida and are one of the most concerning invasive species in the area. Pythons compete with native wildlife for food, which includes mammals, birds, and other reptiles. Severe declines in mammal populations throughout Everglades National Park have been linked to Burmese pythons, with the most severe declines in native...

Human fatalities from non-venomous snakes are very rare, probably averaging one or two per year worldwide. All known constrictor-snake fatalities in the United States are from captive snakes; these are split between deaths of snake owners who were purposefully interacting with their pet and deaths of small children or infants in homes where a snake was kept captive as a pet. There have been no...

The odds of eradicating an introduced population of reptiles once it has spread across a large area is very low – pointing to the importance of prevention, early detection, and rapid response. With the Burmese python now distributed across more than a thousand square miles of southern Florida, including all of Everglades National Park and across the southern coast to Rookery Bay National Estuarine...

In their native ranges, many python and boa species are often found living in suburban and urban areas. In Florida, Boa constrictors and Northern African pythons live in or adjacent to the Miami metropolitan area. As with alligators, the risk of attacks on humans in urban areas is very low.

Free-ranging snakes representing dozens of species from around the world are discovered in the United States in any given year, usually as a result of escapees or releases from the pet trade, but most of these don't appear to have established a reproductive population. Any animal can be problematic when released in places where it is not native. For example, the Brown Treesnake was introduced to...