The annual event known as the Python Challenge designed to reduce the number of the huge snakes in Florida is set to kick off July 10.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) made it official this month that the annual Florida Python Challenge will return this Summer. The contest season to remove the nonindigenous Burmese pythons from Sunshine State landscapes will last for nine days in July.
It will get underway at 12:01 p.m. on July 10 and will run through July 19 at 5 p.m. Participants have to register with the FWC in order to take part in the event. Top performers will share $25,000 in prize money. The person who removes the most pythons will win $10,000.
Registration to participate in the event opened May 19. Those wanting to take part can continue to register until the end of the event on July 19. It’s the ninth straight year the event will take place.
“We look forward to the Challenge each year as a way to raise awareness about nonnative fish and wildlife, while also encouraging the public to get involved in Everglades conservation by removing invasive Burmese pythons,” said FWC Executive Director Roger Young.
Last year’s event saw 294 of the massive snakes removed from the Everglades during the Challenge. In total, 1,406 pythons have been eradicated from the wetlands since the inaugural event.
Since 2000, FWC officials estimate that more than 27,000 of the snakes have been reported as being removed. The snakes proliferated in the Everglades after pythons cultivated as pets either got loose in South Florida or were set loose by people.
Their numbers increased rapidly. Officials say one Burmese python can lay more than 100 eggs at a time, leading to the boom in the snake population in the wild.
Last year’s event drew 934 participants hailing from 30 U.S. states and Canada.
