In September, a possum fitted with a tracking caller sent out a mortality signal, triggered by lack of movement — maybe it was hit by a car, maybe a local dog killed it. But then, a few hours later, the collar started moving again. 🐍
Wildlife researchers studying mammals in Key Largo have discovered a potentially groundbreaking — if not heartbreaking — way to locate and kill invasive Burmese pythons, especially the big ones.
When they finally yanked it out of the ground, they discovered a 12-foot-long, 66-pound female full of egg follicles. Large females like this can lay close to 100 eggs, and are the holy grail for python hunters. Removing them from the ecosystem is like removing dozens, if not hundreds, of future snakes. The team euthanized her, opened her up and retrieved the collar, which they hope to fit onto another possum soon.
Cove said that the problem is so severe in Everglades National Park that “there are no more mammals to put these collars on.” The largest invasive python ever recorded in Florida wasThe study occurred on the boundary between the human world and wilderness, and looked at what happens when raccoons and possums are “dumpster diving and eating all the cat food that people put out for them instead of eating the native seeds and fruits,” Cove said.
On Wednesday, yet another collar emitted a mortality signal and started moving again. But by the time researchers reached the tracker, all they found was a collar in a pile of snake poop; the python had passed the device. He said the collared animals are not at greater risk, they go about their business as they normally would, and researchers ensure the collars don’t hinder their movements. Unfortunately the pythons sometimes intercept them.
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