Ten pythons were captured and removed by professional trappers in the first 10 days of the South Florida Water Management District’s (SFWMD) Python Removal Program, according to a statement from the SFWMD.
The captured Burmese pythons totaled nearly 100 feet in length. Despite the difficulty of finding these elusive snakes, often described as “a moving needle camouflaged in a haystack,” the hunters have had significant success so far.
The largest snake caught was 15 feet, 10 inches long, and was captured by Patrick Campbell on Sunday. For his efforts, Campbell was rewarded with a $350 payment.
Among the hunters, Barry Oppenburger has been the most successful, having caught three pythons during the program’s first week.
The Python Removal Program, which will continue through June, employs 25 hunters who patrol the Florida Everglades. These hunters are paid $8.10 an hour for up to eight hours of work each day. They also receive additional payments for the size of the snakes they capture: $50 for pythons under 4 feet and $25 for each additional foot over 4 feet. Furthermore, hunters are offered a $100 bonus for removing a python nest with eggs.
This initiative is part of the ongoing efforts to combat the invasive Burmese python population, which poses a serious threat to local wildlife in the Everglades.
