[caption id="attachment_62312" align="alignright" width="300"] 68 PYTHONS FOUND IN FLORIDA[/caption]Florida Round Up Nets 68 Pythons

A month-long competition in the Florida Everglades to help eliminate an excess of dangerous python snakes has resulted in the capture of 68 of the slithering creatures.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had authorized a competition that invited snake hunters from around the world to come to Florida in order to hunt, capture and kill Burmese Pythons that have begun overrunning the marshy Everglades area.

Pythons are considered invasive species in the Everglades, posing a danger to mankind as well as to the wildlife that naturally live in the Florida wilderness.

Pythons were first noticed in the Everglades in the late 1970s and officials estimate that their numbers have grown to almost 100,000 in recent years.

Pythons have eliminated whole rabbit and fox populations, with opossums, raccoons and bobcats eliminated by as much as 99% due to the snakes. Fort Myers resident Brian Barrows won the contest grand prize by killing six pythons.

On The Web:

Plenty more where those came from -- final take in Fla. snake hunt is 68 pythons
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/16/us/florida-python-hunt