Latest news with #pythons
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Meet the robo-bunny: This tiny, furry robot is taking on invasive pythons in Florida
Among the cypress and sawgrass of South Florida, a new weapon in the state's fight to remove invasive pythons lurks, waiting to entice its prey. 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
Gizmodo
09-07-2025
- Health
- Gizmodo
Scientists Discover Secret Weapon That Allows Pythons to Digest Bones
Pythons are notorious for their eating habits. After suffocating their prey with their lithe bodies, these large snakes swallow the animal whole. Now, researchers have shed new light on the cellular mechanisms that allow them to digest entire skeletons. The study, presented July 9 at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Belgium and published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, investigated the intestinal cells of Burmese pythons. Adult males can grow to be 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) long, and their impressive size allows them to feed on a wide variety of mammals and birds, including deer and alligators. Unlike other carnivores that only eat flesh, snakes rely on animal skeletons as a calcium source. Absorbing all the available calcium from a skeleton, however, could result in too much of this nutrient entering the serpent's bloodstream. Called hypercalcemia, it can lead to heart conditions, high blood pressure, bone defects, and kidney failure in reptiles. 'We wanted to identify how [pythons] were able to process and limit this huge absorption of calcium through the intestinal wall,' said Jehan-Hervé Lignot, lead author and a professor at the University of Montpellier, in a statement. To that end, Lignot and his colleagues fed pythons one of three different diets: normal rats, boneless rats, or boneless rats enriched with calcium carbonate to match natural bone calcium levels. One group of snakes did not receive any of these diets and instead fasted for three weeks to provide a baseline. Three to six days post-feeding, the researchers humanely euthanized and dissected the snakes to extract their small intestines. They then analyzed the enterocytes, or intestinal lining cells, of the pythons using light and electron microscopes alongside measurements of blood calcium and hormone levels. This revealed a never-before-seen type of cell that produces large particles made from calcium, phosphorus, and iron. These particles form structures that Lignot calls 'spheroids.' 'A morphological analysis of the python epithelium revealed specific particles that I'd never seen in other vertebrates,' Lignot said. He and his colleagues found these particles inside the internal 'crypt'—a small pocket or cavity—of specialized cells that differed from traditional intestinal cells. 'Unlike normal absorbing enterocytes, these cells are very narrow, have short microvilli [finger-like membrane protrusions], and have an apical fold that forms a crypt,' he added. The three different diets that the pythons ate allowed the researchers to assess the function of these unique cells. In snakes that ate boneless prey, the enterocytes did not produce the calcium and phosphorous-rich particles. In those that ate either whole rodents or calcium-supplemented boneless rodents, however, the cells' crypts filled with large particles of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. This suggests that these cells play an important role in breaking down the bones of a python's prey. The researchers found no bones in the snakes' feces, confirming that all skeletons were completely digested and dissolved inside their bodies. Though it was first identified in Burmese pythons, this new cell type isn't unique to them. Since that initial discovery, the researchers have found these specialized bone-digesting cells in other species of pythons, boas, and the Gila monster, a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. The findings seem to point to an understudied system of mineral regulation in the digestive tracts of reptiles. However, it is possible that this mechanism extends to other types of bone-eating carnivores too, such as sharks and other marine predators, aquatic mammals, or raptors like the bearded vulture, according to Lignot. He told Gizmodo he hopes this work will inspire other researchers to search for these newly discovered cells across the animal kingdom.
The Independent
15-06-2025
- The Independent
Python snake ‘at large' as police issue urgent warning
Police are investigating after four large pythons were found abandoned in the Lincolnshire countryside, with one still suspected to be at large. The reticulated pythons, a non-venomous species native to South and Southeast Asia, were discovered in the Twigmoor and Cleatham areas on Tuesday (10 June), Humberside Police said. Officers from Humberside Police's Rural Task Force are now investigating potential offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The pythons were captured with help from exotic animal experts, the force said. The snakes captured were two albino snakes and what is believed to be a Pied Golden Child Morph. One, found near Manton, measured an estimated 18ft and was a wild type. Reticulated pythons are the longest snake species on Earth and kill their prey through constriction, coiling around animals and squeezing them to death. The force believe the snakes were abandoned pets, making them less likely to bite. However, Humberside Police has warned the public not to approach any found in the wild and to call 101 immediately with a precise location. 'These snakes will not attack you,' a force spokesman said. 'They will only try to defend themselves if they feel threatened.' Dog walkers have also been urged to keep pets on leads in the area. Officers also appealed for information about how the snakes were released and reminded the public not to dump unwanted exotic animals. 'If you have a pet that you can no longer keep, please take it to an exotic animal shop or animal rescue,' a force spokesman said. 'Do not release them into the wild.'
