FWC milestone: The 1000th Burmese Python is captured in the Everglades

The Everglades, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is celebrating a milestone in the hunt for Burmese Pythons in the Florida Everglades.

In a Facebook post, FWC said, “Our Python Action Team has now removed over 1,000 invasive Burmese pythons from the wild!”

The milestone snake measured 9’6” and weighed 23 pounds and was captured by Tom Rahill in the Chekika region of Everglades National Park.

The largest python found, so far, in Florida measured 18’4’ and weighed a whopping 98 pounds!

Officers say no matter what size the snake, removing them gives native wildlife a better chance at survival.

Governor Ron DeSantis applauded the efforts of the FWC and said together with the South Florida Water Management District (SWMFD), they have removed more than 3,600 invasive Burmese pythons from South Florida.

Both the  SFWMD's Python Elimination Program and FWC's Python Action Team were created in the spring of 2017 in an effort to control the snakes rapidly growing population.

In recent months, FWC has doubled their number of Action Team contractors, significantly increasing the number of pythons that have been removed.