Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) are native to Southeast Asia. However, since the end of the 20th century, they have become an established breeding population in South Florida. The earliest python sightings in Florida date back to the 1930s and although Burmese pythons were first sighted in Everglades National Park in the 1990s, they were not officially recognized as a reproducing population until 2000.[1] Since then, the number of python sightings has exponentially increased with over 30,000 sightings from 2008 to 2010.
Burmese pythons prey on a wide variety of birds, mammals, and crocodilian species occupying the Everglades. Pronounced declines in several mammalian species have coincided spatially and temporally with the proliferation of pythons in South Florida, indicating the already devastating impacts upon native animals.[2] The importation of Burmese pythons was banned in the United States in January 2012 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
- ^ "14 Jun 1937, 3 - Pensacola News Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
- ^ Willson, John D. (2017). "Indirect effects of invasive Burmese pythons on ecosystems in southern Florida". Journal of Applied Ecology. 54 (4): 1251–1258. Bibcode:2017JApEc..54.1251W. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12844. ISSN 1365-2664.