These animals are also regularly found inside the stomachs of captured Burmese pythons. One 2012 study showed that since 1997, around the time that the python population began to rapidly increase, the number of raccoons dropped by 99.3 percent, opossums by 98.9 percent, with the population numbers of cottontail rabbits, and foxes also drastically decreasing. They are still classified as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, however.
These pythons outcompete native wildlife for food, which has led to decreases in native mammal populations in the Everglades. The exact population of Burmese pythons in Florida is unknown, but there are thought to be over 100,000 in the state. They can potentially grow up to 23 feet long. due to being brought over by the pet trade in the late 1990s, and due to having no predators, quickly multiplying thanks to their large clutches of up to 100 eggs. Native to southeast Asia, Burmese pythons are thought to have exploded in population in the U.S. iStock / Getty Images Plusīurmese pythons are an invasive species in the Everglades.
A scheduled hunt for Burmese pythons in Florida will do little to eliminate the invasive species, an expert told Newsweek.
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