EVERGLADES CITY, Fla. — It's time to grab your hunting gear and slither down to South Florida — the 2023 Florida Python Challenge has officially begun.
Participants set out into the Everglades on Friday with the goal of bagging the most Burmese pythons possible during the 10-day competition, which runs from Aug. 4-13, 2023. The challenge, which is in its 10th year, is Florida's most unique conservation effort.
Every year since 2013, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has hosted the Python Challenge as a way to combat the threats invasive Burmese pythons pose to our ecosystem.
“Every one of the pythons removed as part of the Challenge is one less preying on our native birds, mammals and reptiles. This is a win for the Everglades and a win for the people of Florida," FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said in 2022.
Participants must complete required online training and follow a specific set of rules, including humanely killing the snakes in the designated competition areas. This year, they're competing for more than $30,000 in prizes, with $10,000 going to the person who captures the most pythons overall.
A $1,000 prize is awarded to winners in both the professional and novice categories that capture the longest python.
During the 2022 Florida Python Challenge, nearly 1,000 people from 32 U.S. states, Canada and Latvia removed 231 invasive Burmese pythons — eight more snakes than the 2021 challenge.
The FWC estimates there are between 100,000 to 300,000 Burmese pythons in the Everglades, and data shows the snakes are continuing to spread across South Florida. Since 2000, the agency says more than 17,000 wild Burmese pythons have been removed from the state.
Burmese pythons are not native to Florida and are found primarily in and around the Everglades ecosystem. Because of the snakes' negative impacts on our native species, people can remove and humanely kill pythons at any time on private lands with landowner permission and on 25 commission-managed lands.
If snake hunting isn't your thing, you can still help the FWC combat invasive species by reporting sightings to the Invasive Species Hotline at 888-IVE-GOT1 (888-483-4681) or online.