Barstool Outdoors Episode 5: Python Task Force vs. The Everglades Invaders
South Florida is in the midst of an invasion. You may be aware or completely oblivious, but foreign entities are changing the ecology of one of America's most unique habitats, the Florida Everglades. The Everglades are already one of the wildest places on the entire planet. For my money, I don't think there is a single place in North America where you are going to find this level of variety of absurd animals in the same spot. In addition to this, the warm climate of South Florida and the fact that Miami serves as America's exotic pet trade portal from the Caribbean and South America sets itself up for a breeding ground for invasive species to thrive.
There are thousands of square miles of wilderness in the Everglades that have evolved in the past 20-30 years to be a fantasy football roster of fish and reptiles from all over the world. There are monkeys, feral hogs, monitor lizards, iguanas, walking catfish, caiman, chameleons, tilapia, oscars, mayan cichlids, parakeets, and countless other types of animals that are not native to Florida. Almost any canal you walk past in South Florida is absolutely INFESTED with these fish and while species like the Peacock Bass are looked upon fondly, most of the rest are not. One such species that has become quite infamous around these parts is known as the Burmese Python, and this entire episode is focused on them.
It is not known EXACTLY how it happened, and the truth is probably that its a combination of these stories, but by some combination of people releasing pet Pythons into the Everglades and a Python breeding facility that was breached in Hurricane Andrew in 1992, they are everywhere. It was never too rare to hear reports of large exotic snakes in South Florida, but at some point in the past decade or two, the population hit the point of a critical mass which allowed for enough Pythons to form a breeding population big enough to explode snakes into every corner of the Glades.
They have absolutely DECIMATED populations of small mammals that used to thrive in this region for a long time. Some species have been reported as being down by 90%. They are incredibly effective predators and the native prey species that have had about 30 years to try and adapt to an animal that has been evolving for MILLIONS leaves a matchup problem equivalent to me trying to post up Shaq. Its a bloodbath. Groups of native Floridians and local Government programs have teamed up to try and tip the balance of the scales back towards the animals that have called this place home for centuries.
One such individual is Mike Kimmel, aka Trapper Mike or the "Python Cowboy". He is one of the most genuine dudes I have met and truly cares about ridding the Everglades of invasive species, no matter how long it takes. He invited me down to profile his efforts and it was one of the coolest experiences I've ever been apart of. I honestly can't describe how cool the Everglades ecosystem is and think it is the closest thing to Jurassic Park we have left. Just an absolutely incredible place on Earth that I am grateful to have been able to hang out in. Check out Python Cowboy on Instagram and watch his stories they are absolutely absurd on a day to day basis. Check it out and make sure you look twice next time you're walking through the swamp in South Florida.
