Why This Giant Snake Is So Destructive

Burmese pythons released in Florida during the 1980s and 1990s, potentially including 900 specimens from a breeding facility destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, have multiplied into an estimated population of hundreds of thousands causing catastrophic ecosystem disruption.

Burmese pythons employ ambush hunting strategies, waiting camouflaged in vegetation or submerged in water until prey approaches within striking distance before launching attacks with lightning speed.

Burmese pythons possess uniquely structured jaws comprising four independently movable parts connected by highly flexible ligaments, enabling consumption of prey substantially larger than their head dimensions.

Female Burmese pythons lay average clutches of 35 eggs annually, with large females producing up to 100 eggs and record clutches reaching 122, vastly exceeding native Florida snake reproduction rates.

Burmese python hatchlings emerge at over two feet (half meter) long, already matching the adult size of many native Florida snakes, providing immediate size advantages over potential predators and competitors.

Native Florida animals lack evolved instinctual fear responses to Burmese pythons, contrasting sharply with Southeast Asian prey species that evolved alongside these predators and possess anti-python defenses and vigilance behaviors.

Adult Burmese pythons in Florida face no significant natural predators, contrasting with their native Asian range where tigers and leopards prey on young and smaller pythons, providing population regulation.