There is a reason the Burmese python is called “Burmese” and that reason is that the python is from Burma (now called Myanmar) in Southeast Asia. Now if the python were from Florida, which it isn’t, it might be called something like the “Florida python”. But even though the python is originally from Asia, it has found a way to make a nice home for itself in the cozy, warm and humid swamps of Florida, USA (like American retirees from the cold Northeast).

It is believed that there are tens of thousands of the constrictor snakes living in the Everglades which can reach sizes of up to 26 ft (8 m) 200 lbs (90 kg). Where did the snakes come from? Apparently, they are the offspring of pets that have been released by their owners or else escaped from their cages (perhaps during catastrophies like the 1992 Hurricane Andrew). Florida has now passed a law that bans private ownership of the snake. The National Park Service has been counting the number of snakes caught since 2000, just within the Everglades National Park: 1825.

When large predators such as this are introduced to ecosystems they can sometimes make a big difference and throw the ecosystems out of balance. Recent studies have claimed that the pythons are eating enormous amounts of medium-size mammals such as raccoons, opossums, bobcats, deer, foxes, rabbits and more. We will see what the effect of all this will be on the food chain and the whole ecosystem. Surely, the alligators are not happy about the competition for top swamp predator.