Home› A Moving Train

Python epidemic in Florida

JWPearlJWPearl Posts: 19,893
in A Moving Train
Was watching a documentary last night and this is becoming a real worry
http://reason.com/blog/2012/02/01/florida-faces-burmese-python-epidemic

Comments

  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    Interesting and a bit bizarre. This is yet another clear example of how introducing an exotic species into an ecosystem can cause imbalances in biotic relationships- kudzu in the south east, exotic snails in rivers and lakes, star thistle and starlings in the west, etc, etc.

    With full grown Burmese Pythons selling for hundreds of dollars this will no doubt entice plenty of snake trackers.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • JimmyVJimmyV Posts: 19,172
    Was in Orlando recently and our host explained they don't even go into the woods without a shotgun. I was ready to come home to New England after that. :-))
    ___________________________________________

    "...I changed by not changing at all..."
  • JonnyPistachioJonnyPistachio Posts: 10,219
    I throw decoy rabbits out ahead of me whenever I have to go to my car!

    I kid. But in all seriousness, I hear more about the invasive Lion Fish, that are creating an imbalance on our reefs, than anything else. But I do recall a few years ago they were promoting the hunt of these pythons. I havent heard if its still a problem or not, so hopefully it helped.
    Pick up my debut novel here on amazon: Jonny Bails Floatin (in paperback) (also available on Kindle for $2.99)
  • CM189191CM189191 Posts: 6,927
    brianlux said:

    introducing an exotic species into an ecosystem can cause imbalances

    ...retirees in a state that carries 29 electoral votes...
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    CM189191 said:

    brianlux said:

    introducing an exotic species into an ecosystem can cause imbalances

    ...retirees in a state that carries 29 electoral votes...
    JonnyPistachio said:

    I throw decoy rabbits out ahead of me whenever I have to go to my car!

    I kid. But in all seriousness, I hear more about the invasive Lion Fish, that are creating an imbalance on our reefs, than anything else. But I do recall a few years ago they were promoting the hunt of these pythons. I havent heard if its still a problem or not, so hopefully it helped.

    :))



    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    JimmyV said:

    Was in Orlando recently and our host explained they don't even go into the woods without a shotgun. I was ready to come home to New England after that. :-))

    I wouldn't go into most suburbs in Florida without a shot gun.
  • rr165892rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    Now,now take it easy on my home.Yeah we got Snake issues but we have a hunt every year.Most of the issue arose after some reptile research fascilities got blown away in Hurricane Andrew and all the snakes got into the Glades.I fucking hate those snakes,and Moccasins also.
    JonnyP is right on.Those invasive Lion fish are way worse for our aquatic Eco system.And you don't need to carry a weapon into all our burbs,just the shitty ones.
  • CM189191CM189191 Posts: 6,927
    rr165892 said:

    Now,now take it easy on my home.Yeah we got Snake issues but we have a hunt every year.Most of the issue arose after some reptile research fascilities got blown away in Hurricane Andrew and all the snakes got into the Glades.I fucking hate those snakes,and Moccasins also.
    JonnyP is right on.Those invasive Lion fish are way worse for our aquatic Eco system.And you don't need to carry a weapon into all our burbs,just the shitty ones.

    No. Your state gave us Marco Rubio. Pythons & Lion Fish are God's way of saying "You done f'd up!"
  • JWPearlJWPearl Posts: 19,893
    I think its really bad, you cant go out and leave the guard dog behind in case he ends up mr pythons dinner, not to mention cats and children, and they are not easy critters to handle.
    My dad killed a venomous snake in his yard, cut its head off, because it was in the childrens play area, needless to say i felt its body and its tough like tyer rubber, and im imagining a python to be much worse, once it loops around you your almost a gonner
  • chadwickchadwick Posts: 21,157
    this is sad ass bullshit
    for poetry through the ceiling. ISBN: 1 4241 8840 7

    "Hear me, my chiefs!
    I am tired; my heart is
    sick and sad. From where
    the sun stands I will fight
    no more forever."
    Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
  • IdrisIdris Posts: 2,317
    edited September 2014
    Jason P said:

    JimmyV said:

    Was in Orlando recently and our host explained they don't even go into the woods without a shotgun. I was ready to come home to New England after that. :-))

    I wouldn't go into most suburbs in Florida without a shot gun.
    I live in Orlando part time, I go out into our wooded areas all the time, it's safe, as long as you know what you are doing.

    I stay away from most suburbs, the biggest/most dangerous snakes live in most of those homes.
    Post edited by Idris on
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    edited September 2014
    JWPearl said:

    I think its really bad, you cant go out and leave the guard dog behind in case he ends up mr pythons dinner, not to mention cats and children, and they are not easy critters to handle.
    My dad killed a venomous snake in his yard, cut its head off, because it was in the childrens play area, needless to say i felt its body and its tough like tyer rubber, and im imagining a python to be much worse, once it loops around you your almost a gonner

    Pythons very rarely kill people, almost never anyone larger than an infant. I wouldn't leave a child alone in an area with "wild" pythons and I would keep an eye on pets but really, there is little else to be concerned about. Pythons and boa and other constrictors constrict their prey and are non-venomous. I had a large boa constrictor for several years named Slim and he was very mellow. Fear of large snakes is generally based on misconception and superstition. Once you get used to them, they are fascinating to be around and handle.

    Even venomous snakes can be fascinating. In the excellent movie, "Joe", Nicholas Cage handles a highly deadly poisonous snake- a real snake with real venom. He actually did this scene for real- no trick photo or photoshopping . Check it out here, it's really cool:

    http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-nicolas-cage-holds-venomous-snake-in-scene-breakdown-by-joe-director-david-gordon-green

    Post edited by brianlux on
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    Slim - great name!

    Haven't seen "Joe" but now I'm intrigued...will search it out in full.

    Snakes to me are sort of like sharks. Fascinating, almost prehistoric, resilient, powerful, and kind of distant - detached.

    I love them.

    Years ago I took a trip to Europe and in Nice, there was this dude with a HUGE python wormed around him for show. It was yellow and white - one thick motherfucker. I remember laying my hand upon that solidness and being blown away at the softness, coolness, of scales on a salami of massive proportions that way outmeasured my hand on it.



  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    (and before any "that's what she said" jokes pop up, my last sentence was referring to the reptile :D)
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    hedonist said:

    Slim - great name!

    Haven't seen "Joe" but now I'm intrigued...will search it out in full.

    Snakes to me are sort of like sharks. Fascinating, almost prehistoric, resilient, powerful, and kind of distant - detached.

    I love them.

    Years ago I took a trip to Europe and in Nice, there was this dude with a HUGE python wormed around him for show. It was yellow and white - one thick motherfucker. I remember laying my hand upon that solidness and being blown away at the softness, coolness, of scales on a salami of massive proportions that way outmeasured my hand on it.



    Yes! That's it!

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • rr165892rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    brianlux said:

    JWPearl said:

    I think its really bad, you cant go out and leave the guard dog behind in case he ends up mr pythons dinner, not to mention cats and children, and they are not easy critters to handle.
    My dad killed a venomous snake in his yard, cut its head off, because it was in the childrens play area, needless to say i felt its body and its tough like tyer rubber, and im imagining a python to be much worse, once it loops around you your almost a gonner

    Pythons very rarely kill people, almost never anyone larger than an infant. I wouldn't leave a child alone in an area with "wild" pythons and I would keep an eye on pets but really, there is little else to be concerned about. Pythons and boa and other constrictors constrict their prey and are non-venomous. I had a large boa constrictor for several years named Slim and he was very mellow. Fear of large snakes is generally based on misconception and superstition. Once you get used to them, they are fascinating to be around and handle.

    Even venomous snakes can be fascinating. In the excellent movie, "Joe", Nicholas Cage handles a highly deadly poisonous snake- a real snake with real venom. He actually did this scene for real- no trick photo or photoshopping . Check it out here, it's really cool:

    http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-nicolas-cage-holds-venomous-snake-in-scene-breakdown-by-joe-director-david-gordon-green

    Joe was an interesting movie in a dark kinda way.I love the dog seen at the whore house.
  • rr165892rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    CM189191 said:

    rr165892 said:

    Now,now take it easy on my home.Yeah we got Snake issues but we have a hunt every year.Most of the issue arose after some reptile research fascilities got blown away in Hurricane Andrew and all the snakes got into the Glades.I fucking hate those snakes,and Moccasins also.
    JonnyP is right on.Those invasive Lion fish are way worse for our aquatic Eco system.And you don't need to carry a weapon into all our burbs,just the shitty ones.

    No. Your state gave us Marco Rubio. Pythons & Lion Fish are God's way of saying "You done f'd up!"
    You are all wrong CM(you live where? And what's it like in Feb?)
    We give you Jim Morrison,Mike Mccready,Lynard Skynard,Shinedown,etc,etc
    Some of the worlds best beaches,One of the most diverse Eco systems on this earth.A trip to the moon,Some of the most gorgeous half naked people,No state taxes,great quality of life,Gatorade,Super Bowl,World Series,Stanley Cup Champions,and we skip all the shitty seasons.
    So I believe you statement that we f'd up is off base.Its more like you guys Fucking Rock !!!!!
  • chadwickchadwick Posts: 21,157
    edited September 2014
    "Many people believe the Cottonmouth and the Copperhead to be very deadly. Legends aside, they are not really very deadly at all. The maximum amount of venom a Cottonmouth can deliver is just barely enough to kill a single person."

    "The Copperhead is less deadly still; even if untreated, a Copperhead bite causes death in considerably less than 1% of bites. There is even some question as to whether there have been any deaths at all from Copperhead venom."

    http://www.reptilegardens.com/reptiles/snakes/venomous/

    we grew up with snakes, learning about reptiles from reading up on them & going to a little reptile house at a zoo where dad's buddy ran the joint as a herpetologist. cottonmouths (or water moccasins) & copperheads are lightweight pit vipers, opposite of their (north american) pit viper buddy the rattlesnake. although a few types of rattlesnakes are quite mild tempered. the pits located between their eyes & nosrills are heat sensing pits used for locating prey.

    i know a few people who been bit by cottonmouths & copperheads. it's kinda like being drunk. a copperhead buried in a woodpile in missouri at a campground bit dad one fine morning on his forearm.
    so he loaded some firewood into the bed of his truck, drove back to his campsite just down the way from the firewood shed & he put a few more log on the smoldering fire from the night before, drank plenty of budweiser & started in on the whiskey & by 10 or 11am you'd never know he was having hemotoxin venom running thru him. he admitted he felt it but it was weak

    anyhow nick cage was holding a snake that is as dangerous as a infant with an axes.

    how vipers use their heat sensing pits
    http://youtu.be/lySW2-eYilg
    Post edited by chadwick on
    for poetry through the ceiling. ISBN: 1 4241 8840 7

    "Hear me, my chiefs!
    I am tired; my heart is
    sick and sad. From where
    the sun stands I will fight
    no more forever."
    Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,042
    ^^^ Great stuff on snakes there, Chadwick. I kind of feel the same way about rattlesnakes although I don't know if they are more poisonous than copperheads (I almost wrote "cottonmouth...WTF?) and water moccasins. The times I've run across them in the wild were always a thrill. You hear that rattle go off, you automatically get a shot of adrenaline, and then, wide-eyed, you watch this beautiful creature who is WAY more fucking scared than you are as it slithers off into the brush.

    I know folks with kids have cause for concern but that's when a good smart dog is good to have around.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • chadwickchadwick Posts: 21,157
    edited September 2014
    rattlesnakes... yeah don't get hit by one, you'd be better off dealing w/ a copperhead or cottonmouth. they're all pit vipers but for some reason the rattlers are quite lethal although you'd most likely live through the agony of rotting your flesh away. also too note, when a snake bites you have a 50/50 chance as the bite may be a dry bite as snake preserve their venom for what they can kill & eat.
    Post edited by chadwick on
    for poetry through the ceiling. ISBN: 1 4241 8840 7

    "Hear me, my chiefs!
    I am tired; my heart is
    sick and sad. From where
    the sun stands I will fight
    no more forever."
    Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
  • callencallen Posts: 6,388
    edited September 2014
    Have a few copper heads on property. Absolutely beautiful. Twice snakes sunning on driveway with me almost stepping on them. I was Initially concerned but after research, as Chad stated not that big a deal. Will be a bit more careful. No rats or mice around.
    Post edited by callen on
    10-18-2000 Houston, 04-06-2003 Houston, 6-25-2003 Toronto, 10-8-2004 Kissimmee, 9-4-2005 Calgary, 12-3-05 Sao Paulo, 7-2-2006 Denver, 7-22-06 Gorge, 7-23-2006 Gorge, 9-13-2006 Bern, 6-22-2008 DC, 6-24-2008 MSG, 6-25-2008 MSG
  • rr165892rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    Our local news today
    http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/martin-county-woman-finds-deadly-rattlesnake-slithering-inside-her-home-19300.shtml?wap=0&
  • rr165892rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    edited September 2014
    Oh hell,i will give you some classic Florida nonsense.Only here in my beloved state.
    http://www.cbs12.com/news/features/aroundtheweb/videos/video--florida-woman-gets-plastic-surgery-to-add-third-breast-to-make-herself-unatttractive-to-men.shtml?wap=0&

    Look at her last name,its real!!
    Post edited by rr165892 on
  • chadwickchadwick Posts: 21,157
    rr165892 said:

    Our local news today
    http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/martin-county-woman-finds-deadly-rattlesnake-slithering-inside-her-home-19300.shtml?wap=0&


    "Lt. Forrest Yingling captured the snake and relocated it to a safer environment away from people."
    nicely done. the eastern diamondback rattler is the largest of all rattlesnakes. these dudes can easily get 7-8 feet long, weighing 10 pounds & they are the largest venomous snake in north america. they are a serious player.

    i was curious so i looked something up - the 'gila monster'. they are about as venomous as the western diamondbattle rattle snake which is just about as nasty as the eastern cousin.

    i met a guy who travels all over the damn place snake searching & bringing them home. he had a off road truck of some kind & had all these boxes & cloth sacks fulla reptiles. he reaches in a sack not yet marked as a 'bad news dude' when this pissed off gila monster clamped down & would not let go as it chewed its venom into this idiots hand. he was not well for awhile as it was painful as can be.

    i think it is illegal as fuck to even handle a gila monster let alone put one in a sack & take it home. they are a protected species i am sure of it.

    so let's look. wait for it................ searching


    "Status:
    Listed as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act and listed on CITES Appendix II. They are threatened by habitat destruction: overgrazing, truck farming, and the planting of cotton. They are also protected under Arizona law."

    http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Gilamonster.cfm
    for poetry through the ceiling. ISBN: 1 4241 8840 7

    "Hear me, my chiefs!
    I am tired; my heart is
    sick and sad. From where
    the sun stands I will fight
    no more forever."
    Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
  • rr165892rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    Here is our latest snake story.
    http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_19366.shtml
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    Two more pythons have been spotted in Florida ...

    image
  • rr165892rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    Jason P said:

    Two more pythons have been spotted in Florida ...

    image

    That's great!
Sign In or Register to comment.