Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: criveraville on August 14, 2012, 03:53:59 am
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Interesting story.. I bet this things would be fun to hunt.
Cipriano
http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/news/holy-herpetology-burmese-python-found-record-87-eggs-193035561.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=US&.lang=en-US
A double record-setting Burmese python has been found in the Florida Everglades.
At 17 feet, 7 inches (5.3 meters) in length, it is the largest snake of its kind found in the state and it was carrying a record 87 eggs. Scientists say the finding highlights how dangerously comfortable the invasive species has become in its new home.
"This thing is monstrous, it's about a foot wide," said Kenneth Krysko, of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. "It means these snakes are surviving a long time in the wild, there's nothing stopping them and the native wildlife are in trouble."
The giant female python was discovered in the Everglades National Park and had been stored since May in a freezer at the museum; on Friday, researchers at the museum studied its internal anatomy, making the wild discovery.
Florida is the world capital for invasive reptiles and amphibians, and the Burmese python, native to Southeast Asia, is one of the state's most prominent new residents. The snake was introduced to Florida by the exotic pet trade three decades ago and is now one of the region's deadliest and most competitive predators. [See Photos of Record Burmese Python]
"They were here 25 years ago, but in very low numbers and it was difficult to find one because of their cryptic behavior," Krysko said in a statement from the University of Florida. "Now, you can go out to the Everglades nearly any day of the week and find a Burmese python. We've found 14 in a single day."
Officials worry that the snakes pose a threat to humans, as well as to native, endangered species, which turn up in the pythons' stomachs. This record-breaking, 164.5-pound (75-kg) specimen found in Everglades National Park had feathers in its belly that will be identified by museum ornithologists, the researchers said. Research published this year suggested the pythons are not only eating the Everglades' birds but they're also snatching, and likely swallowing whole birds' eggs.
Population estimates for the Burmese python in Florida range from the thousands to hundreds of thousands, the researchers said. Studying this massive female specimen with dozens of babies on board could help scientists understand how to curb the spread of the python and other invasive animals.
"By learning what this animal has been eating and its reproductive status, it will hopefully give us insight into how to potentially manage other wild Burmese pythons in the future," Krysko said.
Previous state records for Burmese pythons found in the wild were 16.8 feet (5.1 meters) long and 85 eggs, the researchers said.
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7 Shocking Snake Stories Image Gallery: Snakes of the World Image Gallery: Invasive Species Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Wow that is a snake. :)
Pappy
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Still want to come down here and play, Pappy? ;D
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New sport, Python giging >:D
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I dont see any good reason industrious folks arent selling python hunts yet. Maybe I need to move to FLA and get it started. That would take care of some of the infestation in a hurry.
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What do they do with all these invasive snakes when the catch them? I see a lot of tv shows where they are catching them, but they don't ever say what happens to them. I would love to get some python skins. How cool would a back quiver made out of one piece of 17' snake skin be :o
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Mine had only gotten to 14" by the time he passed at the ripe old age of 14
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I'd say a 17+ foot Python would yield a skin as thick as Bull Rawhide!!!
I'm thinking Quiver, Boots, Sofa and Office Chair out of that one :)
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And chaps :o
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Interesting story.. I bet this things would be fun to hunt.
Studying this massive female specimen with dozens of babies on board could help scientists understand how to curb the spread of the python and other invasive animals.
"By learning what this animal has been eating and its reproductive status, it will hopefully give us insight into how to potentially manage other wild Burmese pythons in the future," Krysko said.
The answer seems pretty clear to me......allow people to hunt them.
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It's legal to hunt them with a $50 permit. Stomping through the Everglades isn't as easy as it sounds.
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When I was serving at Khe Sanh in Vietnam my squad was blowing trees to clear fields of fire. We would pack a shaped charge of C-4 into a wedge cut into the tree and take it down. We blew one tree and one great big pissed off python came out of the top. What did a squad of heavely armed Marines do when confronted with this snake? We took one look and ran back up the hill as fast as we could. That was one big snake.
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Is that $50 per snake? Seems like it would be easy for the guys with airboats.
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It's $50 for the season, no bag limit. It's easy to get to where the snakes are by airboat. But then you have to get out and start crawling through the bushes. And also, Pythons aren't the only snakes in the bushes you are crawling through and they are poisonous.
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Yeah that does make a heck of a differance.
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The way to get rid of these snake is easy. I know how it is done because I have seen it time after time. I grew up with the weekly instruction on snake wrangling. All we need is a cub or baby animal to feed with a bottle while "Jim Fowler" jumps into the water, fights and skins the snake! By the time we have finished watching the egrets Jim should be half way back to camp. That is if he survives the alligator attack!
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finally a snake skin that could back the entire length of one of my bows ::) ;)
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While ol' Jim Fowler is waiting for the snake he has to fight off the mosquitos. If you can catch the drift of my post, there isn't a lot of us out hunting pythons when they still sell them to every other dumbass at the Flea Market.
Plus, they aren't that easy to come by. That's why nobody heard about this one since May while it was kept under ice.We need to be killing all the Iguanas and Monitor Lizards everybody thinks is cute laying on their pool deck, too.
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Sounds real bad
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Ya know iguana was a mayan staple >:D
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I wondered how all of the codices were held together. >:D