The Hill “Changing America”: “The winner of Florida’s annual burmese python hunt, a government-sponsored program that enlists the aid of novice and professional hunters alike, nabbed more than three dozen pythons. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that over a ten-day period in July, more than 600 hunters removed 223 invasive pythons from South Florida, The Miami Herald reported. Invasive Burmese pythons have wreaked havoc in the Everglades, negatively impacting native ecosystem and biodiversity,’ DeSantis tweeted. ‘At my direction, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District have taken steps to increase python removal, and this year’s successful python challenge is an example of these efforts'”.

Charlie Dachton, a novice hunter, took home the $10,000 grand prize, removing 41 pythons. Female burmese pythons can lay between 50 and 100 eggs at a time, and Dachton, with the help of his son, came across a nest containing 22 eggs, according to The Herald. Burmese pythons are one of the ‘most concerning invasive species’ that compete with native wildlife for food in Everglades National Park, according to the US Geological Survey. The USGS estimates that tens of thousands of Pythons inhabit southern Florida. A Burmese python can grow up to 26 feet long and weigh more than 200 pounds, but the average python in Florida is around 8 to 10 feet, according to the FWC. The pythons are not a protected species and can be killed year round in Florida without a permit.”