Meet the robo-bunny: This tiny, furry robot is taking on invasive pythons in Florida
Yes, it's a mechanical rabbit. Just don't call it the Energizer bunny.
Researchers at the University of Florida have outfitted 40 furry, fake toy rabbits with motors and tiny heaters that work together to mimic the movements and body temperature of a marsh rabbit — a favorite python meal.
The fluffy army's mission? Help conservationists remove the highly destructive serpents that have invaded the state's ecosystem
Florida's 10-day python challenge: Why hunters are chasing invasive snakes in the state
Why are they using robot rabbits?
The bunnies spin. They shake. They move randomly, and their creation is based on more than a decade of scientific review that began with a 2012 study that transported rabbits into Everglades National Park to see if, and how quickly, they would become python prey.
'The rabbits didn't fare well,' said Robert McCleery, a UF professor of wildlife ecology and conservation who's leading the robot bunny study that launched this summer.
Subsequent studies revealed that pythons are drawn to live rabbits in pens with an average python attraction rate of about one snake per week. But having multiple live rabbits in pens spread across a formidable landscape is cumbersome and requires too much manpower to care for them.
So, why not robot bunnies?
'We want to capture all of the processes that an actual rabbit would give off,' McCleery said. 'But I'm an ecologist. I'm not someone who sits around making robots.'
Instead, colleague Chris Dutton, also a UF ecology professor but more mechanically adept, pulled the stuffing out of a toy rabbit and replaced it with 30 electronic components that are solar-powered and controlled remotely so that researchers can turn them on and off at specific times.
The rabbits were placed in different areas of South Florida in July 2025 for a test phase that includes a camera programmed to recognize python movement and alert researchers when one nears the rabbit pen. One of the biggest challenges was waterproofing the bunnies so the correct temperature could still be radiated.
McCleery was reluctant to give specifics on where the rabbit pens are located.
'I don't want people hunting down my robo-bunnies,' he said.
Version 2.0 of the study will add bunny scent to the stuffed rabbits if motion and heat aren't enough to fool the snakes.
Why are Burmese pythons a problem?
Burmese pythons aren't native to Florida. They were introduced to the state through the pet trade in the 1970s and release over time into the wild. The snakes gained a foothold in Everglades National Park by the mid-1980s, according to the 2021 Florida Python Control plan, and quickly proliferated, threatening other key species in the ecosystem.
A 2012 study by the United States Geological Survey found the pythons had contributed to population declines of a half-dozen animals, including racoons, opossums, bobcats, foxes, marsh rabbits and cottontail rabbits
The United States Geological Survey puts the Burmese python population in the Everglades in the tens of thousands.
Pythons have migrated north from the park, and researches believe they may be able to survive as far north as Georgia if temperatures continue to warm and the snakes burrow during cold snaps.
What else is Florida doing to control the python population?
State officials trying to mitigate the python population have turned to many strategies – with varying degrees of success.
Renowned snake hunters from the Irula tribe in India were brought in to hunt and share their skills. People have used near-infrared cameras for python detection and specially designed traps. Some pythons are tracked by the DNA they shed in water.
The annual Florida Python Challenge has also gained legendary status, attracting hundreds of hunters each year vying for the $10,000 grand prize. The 10-day challenge was developed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove the pythons from state land. This year's challenge runs through July 20.
Starting in 2017, the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also began paying 100 bounty hunters hourly wages and bonuses based on the length of the snake caught.
The hunters have removed an estimated 15,800 snakes since 2019 and were called the 'most effective management strategy in the history of the issue' by district invasive animal biologist Mike Kirkland.
Kirkland oversees the district's hunters. Kirkland oversees the district's hunters and is involved in other python removal projects, including the robo-bunny experiment.
'It's projects like (McCleery's) that can be used in areas of important ecological significance where we can entice the pythons to come out of their hiding places and come to us,' Kirkland said at the board meeting. 'It could be a bit of a game changer.'
Euthanasia or execution? Lawsuit says government wrongly killed Peanut the squirrel
McCleery said he's pleased state officials are willing to experiment.
'Our partners have allowed us to trial these things that may sound a little crazy,' McCleery said. 'Working in the Everglades for 10 years, you get tired of documenting the problem. You want to address it.'
McCleery said researchers did not name the robot rabbits, although he did bring one home that needed repair. His son named it 'Bunbun.'
Contributing: Kim Luciani and Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Army of robot rabbits deployed in fight against Florida pythons
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Don't panic if you get a lot of light sleep — expert explains why it's just as important as deep sleep
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Light sleep makes up a significant portion of our rest but the term might cause alarm in some if they think they're getting too much 'light sleep' and not enough 'deep sleep.' Sleep trackers label it vaguely, but what does light sleep actually do for the body and mind? Spencer Dawson, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor and Associate Director of Clinical Training at Indiana University's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences describes the stages of 'light sleep' as well as what happens during them. Remember, if you're monitoring sleep using wearables, try not to put too much weight into their sleep tracking and scores. They aren't looking at brain activity—which is how sleep professionals know what's truly happening and when you're in specific sleep stages and those who love to know their sleep score, here's a trick that can get it to the 90s. What is light sleep? "When I see the term 'light sleep,' it's usually in association with someone using wearables,' says Dr. Dawson. This includes non-REM (rapid-eye movement) 1 and non-REM 2 sleep, he says. "Previously, these were called stages one and two, but now they're more specifically categorized as NREM1 and NREM2." NREM3 is considered deep sleep, and all three stages stand for Non-REM, with REM sleep meaning 'rapid eye movement'. NREM1 is the lightest stage of sleep. You might not even think you've dozed off. It can last only a few minutes. Dr. Dawson says he's heard it described as if someone dozing off in a recliner in front of the TV wakes up when the TV is shut off, saying, 'I was watching that.' In NREM2, the heart rate and breathing slow. The body can move a bit but the brain appears to have less activity happening. Why is light sleep important? REM sleep gets a lot of attention for its contributions to health, but you still need light sleep as part of a healthy sleep cycle. Sleep researchers find specific neural activity patterns occur during the NREM2 sleep stage. The ones referred to as 'sleep spindles' and 'K-complexes' indicate patterns involved with brain processes, including learning, memory, and stimulus processing, according to research. When does light sleep occur? The NREM1 stage of sleep is transitional from wake to sleep. 'It's fairly junky,' says Dr. Dawson. 'If you had a lot of that, you wouldn't feel good.' It usually makes up about five percent of a night's sleep. That's followed by NREM2 sleep which makes up about 50% of one's sleep. It's estimated that someone goes through four or five sleep cycles each night of about 90 minutes each. Those include REM and NREM sleep and bouts of waking up—even if you don't recall those wakeups. Sticking to a regular sleep schedule can help you get the light sleep and deep sleep you need. What happens during light sleep Light sleep or (Non-REM sleep) plays a role in the sleep cycle helping the body move into deep sleep modes. You usually spend more time in 'light sleep' in the early part of the night. 1. Heart rate slows The heart rate decreases during N1 and N2 sleep. This is likely how wearables make predictions that you're in those 'light stages' of sleep since they're usually monitoring your heart rate. Heart rate variability tends to be greater during REM sleep. 2. Brain waves slow During light sleep, your body can move but the brain looks like it's at rest, says Dr. Dawson. Sleep researchers look at brain activity in 30-second chunks of time, he says. During light sleep, we see these large, high amplitude, slow oscillations of brain activity. In REM sleep, the brain looks 'awake' and active while the body is immobile. 3. Body temperature drops The body temperature decreases as you move into 'light sleep' but recent research says the brain temperature also falls during this time. It's suspected that this temperature drop helps the body save energy where it can before the brain temperature increases during REM sleep. 4. Eye movement stops Since REM sleep involves 'rapid eye movement' — often side to side behind the eyelids — it's worth noting that during NREM2 sleep, eye movement stops. REM is the stage of sleep in which we dream, but you're unlikely to dream during light sleep. How much light sleep should we get? In general, about 50% of one's overall sleep should be 'light' sleep, which we're calling NREM1 and NREM2 sleep stages. That being said, everyone's needs differ and vary according to their ages. 'The amount of deep sleep your body goes into tends to reflect your sleep need,' says Dr. Dawson. 'It's a homeostatic process. So basically, your brain knows how much it needs, and if it needs more, it will do more [deep sleep]. And if it needs less, it'll do less.' Simply put, you can't do much to control which stages of sleep your body goes between each night. What happens if you spend too much time in light sleep? If you spend too much time in light sleep—instead of deep sleep—you're not going to feel good. You might never feel 'rested' even if you're in bed for the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night. You cycle through all of these sleep stages throughout the night, including briefly waking up between them, which is perfectly normal. 'While transitioning between REM and NonREM sleep and back, you might see some of the NREM1 sleep in there as well,' says Dr. Dawson. However, an indication that you're not cycling through the stages properly and spending too much time in light sleep is daytime irritability, fatigue, mood swings and sleep deprivation. Improving your sleep hygiene and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, as well as aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep a night, will help you experience full and healthy sleep cycles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Confirmed: Uranus Really Is Hotter Than It Has Any Right to Be
A new analysis of decades' worth of observations has revealed that Uranus does indeed emit more heat than it receives from the rays of the Sun. This conclusion, arrived at by two independent teams of scientists, finally resolves a puzzle that first emerged when Voyager 2 cruised past the stinky planet all the way back in 1986. Those observations suggested that Uranus was not emitting any excess heat – a finding that put it at odds with all the other giant planets in the Solar System. A team led by planetary scientist Xinyue Wang, formerly of the University of Houston, now at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has now found that Uranus is emitting around 12.5 percent more heat than it receives from the Sun. This is consistent with findings about Uranus made by a team led by planetary physicist Patrick Irwin of the University of Oxford in the UK, made available earlier this year on arXiv. Related: For The First Time, Scientists Have Detected X-Rays Coming Out of Uranus "This means it's still slowly losing leftover heat from its early history, a key piece of the puzzle that helps us understand its origins and how it has changed over time," Wang says. "From a scientific perspective, this study helps us better understand Uranus and other giant planets. For future space exploration, I think it strengthens the case for a mission to Uranus." Previous research has already shown that Voyager 2's flyby occurred at a time when elevated solar activity was making Uranus behave in anomalous ways. It is, therefore, perhaps not surprising to find that other readings made by the probe may have misrepresented the planet's usual state of existence. However, the findings of Wang's team still suggest that something weird is going on with the planet. Jupiter emits 113 percent, Saturn 139 percent, and Neptune 162 percent more heat than they receive from the Sun. Since Neptune is farther from the Sun than Uranus, the distance can't be an explanation for Uranus's lower internal temperature. This suggests that there's still something weird happening inside the giant – whether it's a different internal structure, or something about its evolutionary history. This difference, the researchers say, underscores the need to probe our Solar System's overlooked outer planets. "A future flagship mission to Uranus would provide critical observations to address more unresolved questions of this enigmatic ice giant," they write in their paper. The research has been published in Geophysical Research Letters. Related News Humans Felt The Effects of Weird Space Weather 41,000 Years Ago Strange 'Fossil' World Detected at Fringes of Solar System Fuzzy, Large, And Very Old: Everything We Know About Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
University of Central Florida launches new online space-focused MBA program
The University of Central Florida is now accepting applications for its new Space MBA program. The new 24-month program is set to begin in the spring of 2026. UCF's Space MBA will be an online graduate program designed to support the commercial space industry and the global space economy. Students enrolled in the Space MBA program will take core MBA courses alongside space-related electives, providing a comprehensive education tailored to the needs of the space sector. The University of Central Florida will accept applications for this program until Dec. 1, giving prospective students ample time to apply for this unique educational opportunity. UCF was originally founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University to support NASA and the 'space race' during the Apollo era. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Solve the daily Crossword
