In the wake of a human death, Florida wildlife officials last week began commissioning "snake hunters" to track down and kill as many as 100,000 invasive Burmese pythons that have been feasting on Everglades wildlife for years. The huge constrictors surfaced as a threat to humans earlier this month when a toddler was squeezed to death by an 8-foot-long Burmese python owned by her family as a pet.
Burmese pythons are a formidable predator. They can reach a length of 26 feet and attain weights of over 200 pounds-although the largest one ever captured in Florida measured a meager 16 feet. They are good climbers and good swimmers-and when it comes time to make little pythons, they can lay up to 100 eggs.
