“Snakes alive! Burmese pythons may be headed our way” was the headline on a story dated Feb. 22, 2008, on www.ajc.com.
The story, written by Mark Davis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, takes a look at the possibility that the burgeoning population of these pythons in the Florida Everglades could mean that eventually they’ll move into Georgia. So, for now, the “our way” in the headline is referring to Georgia, not Indiana. I don’t think these behemoths, which the story says can grow to be 16 feet long and weigh 160 pounds, would find Indiana’s climate to their liking. Good.
So how did these big snakes find their way into the Everglades?
It seems they are the reptilian equivalent of dumped dogs and abandoned cats that once were the prize pets of someone, somewhere. Then, well, they got too big, and outgrew their little snake houses in someone’s apartment in the city, and their owners, not wanting to have their pet put down, decided to to free Willy, so to speak. Trouble is, while Willy was getting his bearings, Sally was also being freed, and the rest is breeding history.
Several Web sites that I’ve visited have much the same tale to tell - the python population in the Everglades is booming, the snakes are growing to sizes that only an alligator has a fighting chance against, and hanging in the balance are the animals and birds that also call the Everglades home.
What to do? Open drop-off stations for unwanted reptiles? What then? And what about the fine mess already brewing in Florida?
I wonder if it’s possible to seine pythons.

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