Been sorting things out around the farm in order to get away for a few days next week to return to the Everglades. I love early summertime in the Glades. Sure, it’s gonna be hotter than the hinges on the door of Satan’s outhouse. But these next couple of months are the best time to really make an impact on the Burmese pythons.
See, the females are busy slithering hither and thither, on the hunt for whatever food sources they can find. The reason? They’re developing their eggs and require quite a lot of additional groceries passing through their system. They need it not only for the development of a big clutch of eggs but also for the extended fast they go through once they create a nest site and lay those eggs. Those big girls will coil up around or very nearby that nest in order to defend their incubating eggs from potential nest raiders. That can take up to sixty days.
Guarding those nests of up to one hundred and thirty eggs, for so long, means they have to store up a lot of fat before they enter that nesting cycle. And those giant egg rolls are at their most vulnerable. State contractors Andre Brown and Matthew Kogo have been posting some tremendous catches: thirteen, fourteen and fifteen feet long egg-filled females. And South Florida’s Python Queen, Amy Siewe, recently made a great grab on an eleven-footer from which she took ninety developing eggs.
It’s not easy, though. Burmese pythons possess arguably the best camouflage in the reptilian world. I still struggle to spot them in my spotlight. More often than not, I’ll recognize a parting in the grass and, upon close inspection, may find a Python lying still, just waiting for the truck to pass. Sometimes, you’ll spot just the top of their head elevated above the grass to see what it is that’s approaching.
However, if you get lucky enough to spot one, the adrenaline always begins flowing strongly. And once you lay hands on them big girls, you had better hold on tight. It’s hard to describe the power those giant serpents have. And it can be one heck of a struggle to get her under control. That’s where your partner comes in…. I do not at all advise anybody to hunt them solo. You’ll be very glad to have another set of strong hands keeping those coils from wrapping you.
I always welcome volunteers to join me, so if you want to experience a hunt for invasive Burmese pythons in our Everglades, give me a shout. I’ve often described the hunt as hours upon hours of sheer boredom, interrupted by minutes of the most adrenaline-fueled excitement you can stand. It’s hot, there are lots of bugs, the hours are long, and you’ll encounter a lot of venomous cottonmouth moccasins and ornery, temperamental gators, but it’s worth it. And our Everglades deserves it. We created the ecological disaster; therefore, it’s up to us to fix it.
Any questions, comments or ride-along queries, reach out to me at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!
