Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to Southeast Asia, but toward the end of the 20th century, they established themselves as a breeding population in the U.S. state of Florida, specifically in the Everglades. A popular exotic animal that has been released or has escaped from people’s homes or outdoor enclosures, the first of these snakes was observed in Everglades National Park in 1979. Their ability to adapt aggressively to the South Florida environment has prompted authorities to name them as an invasive species. Between 2001 and 2005, more than 200 Burmese pythons were observed in park boundaries and National Park Service staff created a policy to remove and euthanize them immediately. The estimated population of pythons in the Everglades is between 5,000 and 180,000, and they can be found in all areas of Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and have been observed north of the parks’ boundaries.

Burmese pythons eat amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that vary in size from small rodents to deer. Spectacular photographs of the snakes in struggles with native alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) have been released, directing international attention on the problem of invasive species in the Everglades. Authorities have proposed curbing the import of several species of snakes into Florida. A scientific study regarding the impact of Burmese pythons in the Everglades, published in late 2011[citation needed], asserts that populations of mid-size mammals such as raccoons (Procyon lotor), opossums (Didelphis virginiana), and rabbits (Sylvilagus), all native to South Florida, have declined as the number of Burmese pythons has increased[citation needed]. Burmese pythons were included on a list of four snakes banned from import into the U.S.; Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the ban at Everglades National Park in January 2012.

Everglades Adventure Tours guide Tommy Owen captures an exotic python in the swamp.

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BY PHILIP CAULFIELD / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A fearless Florida swamp guide has become a local legend after he was filmed hopping out of a sightseeing boat to wrestle with a 10-foot Burmese python in the Everglades.

Tommy Owen, 26, of Everglades City, was leading a family of four on a pole boat tour of the south Florida national park on Tuesday afternoon when he spotted the snake swimming through the murk.

In the Everglades, Burmese pythons are considered pests because they prey on native species and disrupt the fragile ecosystem. They are not native to the area.

“The first thing I thought was that we had to get him out of there because they eat our rabbits, our wading birds all our small mammals,” Owen, a tour guide for Everglades Adventure Tours, told the Daily News.

“I know exactly what he was doing that day, waiting around to grab his meal,” he said. “But they don’t belong here.”

Burmese pythons are not native to the Everglades and are considered harmful predators.
Owen said he guessed the snake was about six-feet long when he jumped into the knee-deep water, crept behind the critter and grabbed it near the head.

“As soon as I grabbed it, it coiled itself around my arm,” he said. “That’s when I realized it was way stronger than me.”

The beast turned out to be about ten feet long.

By contrast, the largest snake caught during the recent month-long Python Challenge hunt in the Everglades was 11-feet long.

Owen, who grew up in Everglades City, said he’d never tangled with a snake on a tour before. ‘The first thing I thought was that we had to get him out of there,’ here said.
“I probably wouldn’t have gone in if I knew it was that big,” Owen said. “It was twice as big as me.”

The fearless tour captain wrestled with the python for several minutes, thrashing it in the water to loosen its stranglehold.

Eventually, he said he was able to get his hands in the right position to allow his co-guide, Warren Wortman, to kill it.

Footage of the catch was broadcast on local NBC news.

The pair bagged the snake and, when the tour was done, turned it over to officials at nearby Big Cypress National Preserve, where a necropsy was performed.

Everglades Adventure Tours

The 26-year-old wrestled with the creature for several minutes before his partner was able to kill it.

Jack Shealy, the tour company’s owner and operator, said tour operators catching snakes was rare.

He caught a six-footer about two years ago, but his experience wasn’t nearly as dramatic.

“There were a few seconds there when Tommy started losing his grip,” Shealy said. “That’s when it can bite you.”

Owen said he hoped the snake-grapple was his last.

“After we were done, the guests said, “We thought that was part of the tour,” Owen said.

“I was like, “No! I hope we don’t have to do that again.”

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