A nighttime search in Big Cypress National Preserve ended with hunters wrestling a Burmese python that stretched 19 feet. The capture set a verified Florida length record after biologists at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida measured the animal.

By exploiting the snakes' mating behavior, a team in southwest Florida removed a record 8,080 pounds of invasive pythons in just six months. The effort points to a simple but effective idea: use the snakes' instincts against them to stop the next generation before the population grows further.

Burmese pythons are scarcely recorded in Lee County, but experts say the data is a faulty reflection of the invasive species' actual population.

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — As the 2026 Florida Python Challenge gets underway, participants are getting up close with one of the Everglades’ most notorious invasive species before heading into the field. Dozens of aspiring python hunters attended a ...

Each year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission turns python removal into a public competition. The Python Challenge offers prize money, draws public attention, and has made post-capture photos a familiar part of the event.

The 2026 Florida Python Challenge starts July 10. It is another opportunity for hunters to put a dent in the invasive Burmese python population and win some money while doing it. Whether you are a novice and have just started to hunt pythons, or you are ...