Updated on 08/25/2022 07:13
- Burmese pythons are a threat to the ecosystem in the Florida Everglades.
- That is why they are specifically hunted there.
- War veterans also roam the Everglades hunting the snakes – for therapeutic reasons.
Enrique Galan finds his inner peace when he ventures deep into the Everglades to hunt Burmese Burmese Pythons. The invasive species has been damaging the ecosystem in Florida’s wetlands for decades. The 34-year-old cultural manager from Miami is paid by Florida’s wildlife agency FWC to hunt down the snakes, whose population is estimated to be in the tens of thousands. For others, hunting has a therapeutic effect.
Dusky burmese pythons, originally brought to the United States as pets, have become a threat to the Everglades since they were released into the wild in the late 1970s. The snake has no natural enemies and feeds on other reptiles, birds and mammals. “They’re amazing predators,” says Galan admiringly.
Hunt seven-foot pythons in the Everglades
The specimens in the Everglades are on average between 1.80 and 2.70 meters long. It takes skill and patience to find them at night in the more than 6000 square kilometer wetland. For comparison: Schleswig-Holstein covers a good 15,000 square kilometers. So Galan drives for miles at night, aiming his flashlight at strips of grass, tree roots, and the banks of streams to track down the nocturnal reptiles.
For python hunting, Galan took an online course, but he actually learned it from Tom Rahill, he says. Rahill, 65, founded the Swamp Apes Association 15 years ago to help war veterans cope with traumatic memories through python hunting.
Rahm Levinson, an Iraq War veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, sometimes hunts with Rahill and Galan. “It’s really helped me with a lot of problems at home,” he says. “I can’t sleep at night and being able to go out with someone at midnight or 2am and catch pythons is productive and good.”
Galan is paid $13 an hour by FWC and an additional fee per python shot: $50 up to four feet in length, and $25 per additional foot.
$2,500 in prize money at the Python Hunting Contest
But this August evening, Galan has another incentive: Florida’s wildlife agency has announced a ten-day python hunting competition. 800 participants try to win the $2500 prize for killing the most pythons. He might use the money for his newborn son.
Galan has a trained eye, the guts and determination it takes to get the job done. After two unsuccessful nights, he spots a shadow on the shoulder of Highway 41: he jumps out of his car and pounces on the animal, a young Burmese python.
He grabs her below the head to avoid being bitten and puts her in a sack, which he ties tightly. Later he will shoot her. A few kilometers away, a giant python slithers across the asphalt. Galan storms out of his car once more, but this time the snake escapes, leaving behind a strong musky odor, a form of defense mechanism.
Galan is proud to be part of a project that has killed more than 17,000 pythons since 2000. “What I get most from it is all the beauty around me. If you just look closely, open your eyes and observe, you can appreciate the magic of nature.” (spl/AFP)
© AFP
Updated on 07/11/2021 at 13:11
Motorists in the Indian state of Sikkim had to be patient when a python crawled across the road in front of them. The gigantic reptile took its time.
