Florida Python Challenge begins

If you're not watching from the Florida area, well, what the heck are we talking about? Well, look at these photos. Right now, a massive effort is underway to protect one of America's most iconic ecosystems, starting just after midnight last night, the 2026 Florida Python Challenge. And over the next 10 days, competitors will head into the swamps, buying for a share of $25,000 in prizes, including a $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize for whoever removes the most pythons. But this isn't just about the hunt. It's a critical mission to save native Florida wildlife from an aggressive, invasive predator. So joining us live, more to talk about. Wow, these videos are really wild. I know you can't see it. But joining us right now, Anisa Kareem, the FWC Non-Native Fish and Wildlife Program Coordinator. Thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing? I'm doing great. I'm doing great. How are you? I am good. I always, I love watching these videos because I see snakes and I run the other way. But people are truly running towards the pythons right now. For maybe the non-Florida-centered viewers, I know I just talked a little bit about it, but can you describe what this is? Absolutely. The Florida Python Challenge is an effort, an educational effort, really, to involve Floridians and people from outside the state if they'd like to participate in removing invasive species from one of our international treasures, the Florida Everglades. And so we use the Burmese python as an example of what non-native invasive species can do to an amazing place like the Everglades. And this is our way of helping people become more engaged in this conservation effort. Definitely. I mean, there's prize money. You have $25,000 in total prizes on the line this year with distinct categories for professionals, novices, military members. So what kind of crowd are you seeing out there right now? Who signs up for this? Well, there's a number of different types of people that you might expect to find out there. We have professionals, like you said. So people that are contracted to be python removal experts, and they also participate in this challenge. And we have people who've never done it before. So mostly people that are, you know, some of them might be a little out for a little adrenaline, and others might be out there to help in our conservation efforts. This time of year, the pythons are most active at night, which is why the competition started at 12.01. So we had a lot of people out in the Everglades just after midnight looking for these pythons. And these folks rest during the day and then go back out at night to try to find these reptiles. I am just blown. I know you can't see some of this video, but they are huge. I mean, it's not easy to take one of these down, I'm guessing. No, it's not easy. We are very cognizant of that. And so we do everything we can to educate people on how to safely capture a python. And it's not for everybody, but it's certainly something that everybody should learn more about because conservation is an effort that we can all get involved in. Wow. And so, I mean, can you hunt pythons year-round, or is it just during this time frame? That's a really good question. You can absolutely hunt pythons year-round. We have an executive order that allows people in South Florida to hunt pythons on 32 FWC Commission-managed lands throughout the year. So the transport of live Burmese pythons is not allowed. So once you find a python, you have to safely capture it and then humanely kill it. And that's what we're trying to do is treat these animals individually with respect, but also address the problem of Burmese pythons in our native ecosystems. Yeah, I was going to say, I mean, can you kind of just explain a little more why they are such a threat to Florida ecosystems? I'd imagine they can fit a lot in these long bellies. Yeah, and you're getting right to the point here. Burmese pythons are really good at what they do, and one of the things they do is eat. So they can eat a lot, and they tend to eat a lot of native animals. They're also very cryptic. They can hide really well. So the detectability of a Burmese python is less than 5%. So, for instance, if you're walking through a field and you happen to pass 100 pythons, you will likely be able to detect fewer than 5. So finding them is really a challenge, and that's why this is the Python Challenge, is finding them and helping us remove them from the Everglades. Okay, so my next question is, once a competitor successfully and humanely removes a python from the wild, what happens to the snake? That's a good question. So we have check stations set up, three check stations set up throughout South Florida, where these competitors then submit their snake as part of the competition. So they come to our check stations that are open for participants to submit their pythons, and once those pythons are submitted, those pythons then get taken to a third party for independent verification that, one, that the python was humanely killed, and then, two, for morphometric data like length and weight, and that really helps us determine who our winners are at the end of the competition. We're honestly having, I'm going to be honest with you, we're having a conversation back here asking if people end up eating these like they do gators. That's not a thing, is it? So some people actually do. The Department of Health has issued an advisory that some pythons may be high in mercury content, but I've met people who have eaten pythons before. So just like any other type of meat, it is an acquired taste perhaps, but that is something that people should be aware of, that some of these pythons could be high in mercury content. The people that are submitting pythons for the Python Challenge, however, would have to submit a whole python, so don't take a bite out of it. Anissa, I'm not going to lie, this has been my favorite conversation of the show, I think. I've truly learned so much. To kind of wrap this up, what does a successful Python Challenge look like to you guys? How many do we want to catch? Is there a goal? Well, we always want to do better than we did last year. Last year we removed almost 300, I think the number was 294 last year. So that's always our internal goal is to do better than last year, but really the ultimate success for this is for people to learn more about the complexities of invasive species management. We have an amazing environment here in Florida, this amazing subtropical paradise is why we love it, which is why a lot of animals and non-native plants are able to do really well here. So the more people can learn about the natural environment, what belongs here, what doesn't, will help us as conservationists get ahead in saving our Florida Everglades. Alright, and just remind us one more time, how long is this challenge? The challenge is 10 days long and anyone that wants to learn more about the challenge can simply go to our website, flpythonchallenge.org. So go to our website, learn all about Florida Python Challenge and you can also continue to register until the end of the challenge. The last day of the challenge is July 19th and people can register until the last day. Alright, well Anissa Karim, FWC Non-Native Fish and Wildlife Program Coordinator, thank you so much for coming on here on The Plus with all of this very interesting insight. I really appreciate it and I hope you have a successful challenge. Thank you so much, great talking to you. Of course, alright everybody, and you heard her, you can go to their website, still participate, definitely going to probably be a busy weekend.