FRANCE: Florida wildlife officials are faced with the task of removing the population of invasive Burmese pythons, which have overwhelmingly spread across the state. Officials are seeking volunteers to help battle the python population.
Monthly training sessions will be offered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to train very brave volunteers how to identify and catch the snakes.
“I wrangled my first snake. That was awesome, heart-pounding — heart-pounding that you enjoy. It was really exciting. I didn’t think I’d do as well as I did. It was easier than I expected”, Conservancy intern McAfee told Perfect science.
Officials and volunteers are battling a population of nearly 150,000 Burmese pythons in southern Florida. Jenny Novak, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist, told Yahoo News, at this point it’s more of managing the situation rather than hoping for a complete removal of all Burmese pythons.
During a training session last week, volunteers tested their new skills when a group of pythons were released. The volunteers used poles to pin the snakes heads, pick them up and gently place them into bags closed with electrical tape, reports the New York Post.