FOXSYLVANIA

– – The month-long python purge is in progress in Florida, with about 800 intrepid hunters in pursuit of the estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Burmese pythons who live in the Everglades where they are an invasive species and decimate natural populations.  The pythons are elusive, however, and not that many carcasses have been turned in to date.  Recommended methods of dispatching them include shooting or cutting off their heads with a machete; the “captive bolt” method is also mentioned if the device can be attached to their heads to destroy their brains as one would a zombie. 

If encountered, the pythons are unlikely to engage in a death struggle with their pursuers, and most will likely either remain where they are spotted or seek to escape.  Most are thought to have been spawned from pet shop purchased snakes that either escaped or were released by their owners into the wild when their size exceeded expectations.  A carnivorous, apex predator, the pythons have been known to consume prey as large as deer and alligators…