Python 'hot spot' identified in Palm Beach County by University of Florida study
University of Florida researchers looking to unlock the perfect equation for successfully hunting Burmese pythons studied the time, day, weather and hunting grounds of state contractors working to reduce the spread of the voracious constrictor.
While many hunters were found to catch an abundance of pythons in specific condensed areas along the edges of Everglades National Park, and south of Biscayne National Park, there were two locations that stood out as spots where a limited number of hunters were racking up lots of pythons.
One area was along the western edge of Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier County.
The other was in Palm Beach County's stormwater treatment area 3-4, which is about 24 miles south of Belle Glade and adjacent to the Holey Land Wildlife Management Area.
If a few hunters are catching a lot of pythons in the stormwater treatment area, then increasing the number of hunters there should yield even more results, researchers reason.
'That's definitely an area where we need to get more folks out there because it offers a high probability of being successful,' said Melissa Miller, an invasion ecologist with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. 'It used to be, a decade ago, you wouldn't find many pythons in that area.'
Stormwater treatment areas are manmade marshes whose plants remove phosphorus and other chemicals from water before it makes its way south through the Everglades.
More: Grand prize winner of 2024 Florida Python Challenge announced
The UF study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports last month, analyzed two year's worth of data collected during 16,000 hours of hunting. Hunter movements are tracked by GPS. That information was then correlated with weather conditions based on the South Florida Water Management District's meteorological monitoring stations.
In addition to identifying python hot spots, the study found the optimal time to hunt pythons was between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. during the May to October wet season. The month of August had the highest number of catches.
Using aquatic vehicles such as airboats enhances hunting efficiency, the study noted. And while nighttime hunts are generally more successful, that's not true during cold snaps when the average daily temperature is 50 degrees or lower. On chilly days, pythons will often slink out of the underbrush to sun themselves on levees or roads.
Alexander Romer, a quantitative biologist who worked on the study, said what researchers found removes some of the guesswork from python hunting.
'We took everyone's data and based on that we can say these are the best conditions to catch a snake,' Romer said.
More: Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge goes on offense to fight invasive Burmese python spread
The Burmese python invasion started with releases — intentional or not — of captive snakes, which likely gained a foothold in Everglades National Park by the mid-1980s, according to the 2021 Florida Python Control plan. By 2000, multiple generations of pythons were living in the park, which is noted in a more than 100-page U.S. Geological Survey report from 2023 that summarized decades of python research.
The report also notes that pythons have moved progressively north, including into areas surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
Outside of the recent study, Romer said he looked at the demographics of pythons captured in Palm Beach County's hot spot and found them to be larger snakes.
'They are adults, and that kind of suggests that it's an area you are having dispersal into,' he said. 'Those animals are moving there, but it's unclear how much reproduction is going on.'
In Palm Beach County, 69 pythons have been captured since 2006, according to the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System, or EDDMapS. In addition, four have been found dead, and 24 sightings have been reported.
The water management district has focused some of its efforts south of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge west of Boynton Beach, hoping to keep the pythons out of the only intact remnant of the northern Everglades.
Hunters generally earn an hourly rate of $13. But incentive pay of $30 an hour is offered in the refuge as an effort to bring more hunters into an area where they are less likely to find a plethora of snakes. Stormwater treatment areas pay $18 an hour.
There are no reliable estimates of python abundance in Florida, the 2023 report says. It also noted that "eradication of the entire population across the landscape is not possible with any existing tools."
'You can't give up though. There is too much at stake,' Miller said. 'Maybe the tools we have right now are not going to eradicate pythons, but in keeping going and trying and exploring new methods, one day I hope there will be a tool that will help.'
To report an invasive species to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, call 1-888-483-4681, or 1-888-Ive-Got1.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County has a python hot spot found by the University of Florida
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